Pets Of The Underground
by Lady Blade WarAngel
Summary: She ran like the wind, trying to find a way out. All around her the underground cavern was eerily lit like a dark street at the dead of night. As she ran, her shoulder-length, pink hair, whipped at her cheeks, as she thought to herself "This is like some
1. The Beginning

Okay all. This is a new fic. Born from a very weird dream I had. Don't ask how I can have dreams as weird as this fic is about to get, because no one can answer that question, except maybe God, and I don't think he's planning on telling me anytime soon. LOL!

SUMMERY: She ran like the wind, trying to find a way out. All around her the underground cavern was eerily lit like a dark street at the dead of night. As she ran, her shoulder-length, pink hair, whipped at her cheeks, as she thought to herself "This is like some kind of really bad movie... or a nightmare I can't wake up from."

_Introduction._

_Three teenagers were about to enter a world they had no idea existed. None of them wanted to be a part of it, but of course, there is no choice in the matter. None of them are adept at dealing with their situation, and each of them have their own methods. Good or bad. But we start our story on October the tenth, with a pink haired teenage girl running in terror, hoping for escape._

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter One – The Beginning.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The teenage girl was running, her black school shoes clapping on the stone floor, her schoolbag violently pounding her shoulder with dull, even thuds. There was rattling from the pencil case in her bag, as the pens crashed together, and all this noise sounded deafening to the frightened girl as she ran. She heard footsteps running behind her, trying to catch up to her.

"_I'm not going back. I'm not going back. I'm not going back. I'm not going back. I'm not going back..."_ The girl kept thinking over and over in her mind. A mantra to keep her running, no matter how much her lungs burned for her to stop and take a breath, or how her back ached for her to stop and shrug her schoolbag onto her back properly, or even how her leg muscles screamed in resistance, begging a break from her silently. She couldn't stop. If she did, then _He_ would get her and she would have to go back.

Whoever was chasing her was getting closer. She needed somewhere to hide. She could only hope that somewhere would appear to her soon, or that she would lose her pursuer and escape this underground cavern. She knew who was chasing her, and it wasn't likely that they would ever give up on her or let her escape this underground hell. She ran like the wind, trying to find a way out. All around her the underground cavern was eerily lit like a dark street at the dead of night. As she ran, her shoulder-length, pink hair, whipped at her cheeks, as she thought to herself

"_This is like some kind of really bad movie... or a nightmare I can't wake up from."_ She was getting more and more desperate. That was when she felt someone grab her from behind.

She made to scream, but a hand clapped over her mouth and pulled her through a door. The person held her to his chest roughly, and locked the door behind them silently. He kept his hand over her mouth until she heard the sounds of her pursuer's footsteps run past the door and keep going. She heard the steps echo away, more and more distant with every step. They seemed to stay in the same position for what seemed like an eternity. Neither one of them moving. The girl, for fear of her pursuer turning around, barely even took a breath.

After about ten minutes, she heard the other person let out a sigh of relief and then he let her go. She turned around to see who had grabbed her only for her jade green eyes to widen in surprise.

"Who are you? Why did you help me?" She asked softly. Her voice was barely a whisper, still so frightened of being captured and taken away. She was looking at a teenage boy with white hair and two red marks on his forehead.

"My name is Kimmimaru. I've been trapped here longer than most. If you want to escape I can show you a way out." The boy said softly.

"What about you?" She asked gently.

"I chose to stay here. From what I heard them saying, you never made the choice." Kimmimaru said kindly. "I'm Sakura." The girl said softly. Kimmimaru nodded and started leading her further into the room. Sakura saw another door that Kimmimaru opened with a set of keys he had. She watched as he opened the door into a dark tunnel. He stepped in and gestured for her to follow. Sakura, having no choice but to trust Kimmimaru, followed him into the tunnel and he closed and locked the door behind them.

Sakura couldn't see a thing in the pitch black of this tunnel. She yelped slightly when a light appeared next to her. That was until she realised that it was a torch, held by Kimmimaru. Sakura shrugged her schoolbag on so that it was now firmly on her back. She held on to the straps and leaned against the wall, still attempting to catch her breath fully after the frightening chase she had just had. Kimmimaru handed the frightened girl a bottle of water, which she drank from greedily, taking great, large, gulps of the clear liquid. She started coughing when she swallowed the water wrong, and she felt a hand on her back, comfortingly patting and rubbing circles on her back to ease her coughing. She looked at the boy gratefully. Once she'd calmed down a little, she looked around in the darkness.

"Where are we exactly?" Sakura asked quietly.

"We're in the underground tube tunnels. I managed to find a set of the keys because I've been here for ages. I'll help you make your way to a train platform, and from there you can take a train somewhere or try and find somewhere to go. How did you end up here anyway?" Kimmimaru asked. Sakura shivered as she remembered. She decided to tell him what had happened.

xXxXxXx FLASHBACK xXxXxXx

Sakura walked home from school, practically skipping down the street. She may have lived in a rotten neighbourhood, but she was a cheerful enough girl. She had just gotten an A plus on her English coursework and she couldn't wait to tell her mother. She ran up the tiny garden path, to the front door, of her dilapidated, two bedroom home. She opened the door with her door key and walked into the front room calling out a cheerful

"I'm home!" through the house. She hadn't even put her bag down, when she noticed that there were more people apart from her mother and stepfather in the front room. She entered the room, to see a silver haired young man sitting on the arm of a chair, next to a male with rather long black hair. He reminded her of a snake. She backed up a little as the man smiled at her.

"This must be your daughter, Sakura." The man said. Even his voice was oily and sly, exactly how she imagined a snake would speak if it could talk.

"Yes this is Sakura. She's not my kid. She's my wife's daughter." Her stepfather said coldly.

"Will this be enough?" He added. Her mother looked pitiful.

"Yes, she seems perfect. An innocent little cherry blossom. My business could use a young girl like her." The dark haired male replied.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Well Sakura, your stepfather owes me a lot of money." The male said.

"So they've decided to trade you to me because they can't find the cash." He added. His tongue slithered across his lips, and Sakura's eyes went wide.

"That can't be true?" Sakura questioned. She looked at her mother.

"You're an expensive kid Sakura." Her stepfather stated. Her mother didn't even look at her.

"This is Orochimaru-Sama, you be polite and do as he tells you!" Her stepfather added. Sakura glared at her stepfather.

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere with this guy? I don't even know him! What do you think he's planning for me huh? Certainly not going to school and being a regular kid!" Sakura yelled. All the time she was thinking.

"_This must be a sick joke. This must be a sick joke. This must be a sick joke."_ The same phrase kept replaying it's self over and over in her mind.

"Who said you had a choice in the matter?" Her stepfather hissed at her.

"I'm a human being not a piece of meat. You don't have a right to trade me." Sakura hissed back.

"Well Sakura, where you're going, people will pay for the pleasure of your company. Of course the fact you're supposed to be a virgin makes the money I'll get for you even higher." Orochimaru stated. Sakura was terrified. This man was talking about selling her as a sex toy to others.

"There is no way I'm doing that! No way I'm letting you sell my virginity to the highest bidder and no way I'm gonna become a prostitute." Sakura hissed out.

"I'm afraid the deal has already been made my sweet." Orochimaru hissed out. That was when she felt a small pinprick in the back of her neck and everything went black.

xXxXxXx END FLASHBACK xXxXxXx

"That was when I woke up and found myself in a locked room. I hit that silver haired guy over the head and ran. He must've been the one chasing me." Sakura said softly. Kimmimaru nodded.

"Yeah he would've been. His name is Kabuto. He's Orochimaru's right hand man." Kimmimaru replied.

"I don't even know where I am Kimmimaru. I don't where to go. I don't know who to talk to, or trust anymore." Sakura said.

"Look, I can take you to someone who'll help you do whatever you need to do. But that's all I can do." Kimmimaru said softly.

"I can't guarantee that he'll help you in any case." Kimmimaru added.

"Would he turn me over to Orochimaru?" Sakura asked.

"No he's not like that." Kimmimaru replied.

"Just hold on to my hand and keep up with me." Kimmimaru stated. He grabbed hold of Sakura's hand and started walking. She followed, keeping a tight grip on his hand. Her only lifeline in the dark, how strange that it should be a boy with pure white hair.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

A blond teenager was sat in his own shabby apartment. His parents were not there. They were both working extra shifts at their jobs, desperately trying to make ends meet. He was reading a beat-up old comic book on a dilapidated sofa because they had no television. Today felt different from most other days. He was wondering if his parents had even remembered that it was his birthday today. Not that he expected to receive a present. He knew they didn't have the money for such things. But it would be nice if, just once, he could have a nice bowl of ramen. He knew he was hoping for too much. They barely had enough money to pay their rent and their miniscule bills. After all, how could electricity be high when you had nothing to waste it on? The blond sighed to himself.

"_Maybe they'll at least wish me a happy birthday. Maybe Granny Tsunade and Grandpa Jiraiya will come and visit. Maybe even Uncle Iruka."_ The boy let his thoughts get ahead of him. He heard the door open and looked up from his comic. He saw a blonde male at the door.

"Naruto, how're you doing sport?" The male asked cheerfully, although the blond, Naruto, could tell his father was extremely tired.

"I'm fine dad. Just reading as usual." Naruto replied. He'd finished his homework hours ago. When you had nothing else to do, your homework was always a good start.

"Can you go and grab me a glass of water Naruto?" His father asked incredulously. Naruto nodded. He had so hoped to get at least a happy birthday greeting, but he hadn't had high hopes of it. He went to get a glass of water from the tiny kitchen, and when he came into the front room, he saw that his whole family were gathered in the front room. His eyes went wide with surprise.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone yelled at him. Naruto's eyes went so wide they almost popped out of his head. He almost dropped the glass of water from shock. His Mom and Dad, His grandparents, his Uncles Iruka and Kakashi, and even his older sister, Yugito and older brother Kyubi were all there. Naruto grinned widely at them all.

"How? When? What?" Naruto was so confused his sentences weren't even coherent. Yugito laughed loudly.

"Naruto, you're like a deer in the headlights. Did you think we were going to forget your birthday?" Yugito asked. Kyubi grinned madly.

"Well you really are a baka, gaki!" Kyubi stated.

"Shut up Kyubi!" Naruto yelled back. Kyubi thrust a box into Naruto's hands.

"Happy birthday squirt." Kyubi said gently. His light blue eyes gleaming in the dim light of the apartment. Naruto opened the present from his nineteen year old brother gently. His eyes widened considerably at the sight of a blue mobile phone.

"That way people can contact you whenever you want them too, and it takes five pound top up. So you'll never have to pay a lot monthly. It's a special sim so that you get a thousand free texts when you top up once a month." Kyubi said knowledgeably. Naruto took the phone out of its box and saw that there were orange swirls all over it.

"Those are phone tattoos. If anything makes them fade or something, just tell me. I've got a friend that designs them." Kyubi added. Naruto also found an orange phone strap and a little green frog and ramen bowl phone charm in the box.

"I'll attach them for you later." Kyubi said when Naruto looked at him. Naruto dived on Kyubi, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks bro!" Naruto yelled happily. Kyubi scowled a little as he pried Naruto off of him and attempted to straighten out his mad red hair. The rest of the group grinned as Kyubi scowled. They knew he didn't mind being hugged by Naruto really.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Yugito pushed another box into his hands.

"I saved to get ya that you twerp so you better appreciate it." Yugito said.

"But you hardly get any money Yugito. You work part time when you ain't at college." Naruto stated.

"Just shut up and open it." Yugito stated plainly. Naruto opened another box to find a set of manga. The series was Bleach. Naruto grinned widely at Yugito.

"This musta cost a fortune!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I told ya I saved." Yugito said happily.

"How did you manage to save enough to get all of them up to date?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't buy any new clothes for two months." Yugito stated plainly. Naruto's eye widened.

"Wow, thanks Yugito." Naruto said softly. Yugito shrugged.

"I'm a shopaholic anyway. I should save money more often. But you're only fifteen once kid." Yugito replied. Naruto knew Kyubi worked a rather decent part time job while he was at university. Of course in England, it was free to go to college when you were nineteen and under. University was a completely different matter. Of course you could get a grant to sort everything out but if you got a job that earned over a certain amount of money a year (once you left university) then you had to pay the money back. But that said, you only had to pay back a small amount a month. Minato and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze were rather poor, but had made sure they were well advised where education for their children was concerned.

Naruto's parents handed him a box next. Naruto opened it to find the brand new trainers he'd been wishing for, for over a month. His own trainers were letting in water, and his gym shoes were not really wearable anywhere else. There was also a brand new leather jacket under the trainers, with an orange swirl sewed on to the right and left shoulders of the jacket. Naruto felt like nothing could be better than this. He hugged his parents tightly and thanked them profusely. His Uncle Iruka was the next one to give him a present. It was another set of manga books. This time they were Samurai Deeper Kyo. Naruto grinned widely. Happy that he'd have so much reading material now. His Uncle Kakashi handed him a box. He opened that to find a small personal dvd player with a few movies and the complete series of Shaman King. Naruto's eyes went wide. Naruto's parents stared at Kakashi.

"I got a better job. Don't worry about it." Kakashi said happily. Naruto grinned at Kakashi widely, and the male ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Thanks Uncle Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed.

Of course it was time for his grandparents to give him something. His grandfather, Jiraiya grinned widely. He handed Naruto a box, which Naruto opened. Inside was a bike helmet. Naruto's eyes went wide.

"Did you seriously go and get me a bike Jii-Chan?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya grinned and opened the apartment door, and pulled in a blue and orange bike. Naruto grinned widely and hugged both of his grandparents. Tsunade nipped her lip gently and handed Naruto a small present. It was a tiny box, and when Naruto opened it, he found his grandma's necklace inside. He looked at her.

"Didn't you give this to your little brother Baa-Chan?" Naruto asked. Tsunade nodded sadly.

"Yeah I did. You remind me so much of him though. I know you'll take good care of it." Tsunade said softly. He hugged Tsunade gently.

"Thanks Baa-Chan. I'll always take care of it. I swear." Naruto whispered to her. She smiled and Naruto could see she was holding back a tear.

"Okay, we're going out to get Ramen tonight." Minato said happily. Naruto grinned widely.

"We'll see your Uncle Inoichi there." Kushina added. Naruto smiled happily. He'd seen practically his whole family in one day. It couldn't get any better than this.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

A dark haired, pale-skinned boy was sat under a tree in his parents, spacious back garden. Sasuke Uchiha lived the rich life. His parents were rich beyond imagination. In fact, his whole family were extremely wealthy. His older brother, Itachi, worked for the family business, and he just went on his merry way to a private school, where girls fawned over him, and everyone wanted to be his friend, or gain his attention. Most fifteen year old teenage boys would love this life. Sasuke, however, hated it. He hated girls fawning over him like he was a god. He hated people sucking up to him. He was, in reality, a real bastard. He was cold to everyone, and acted like he had a stick up his ass, and he did it on purpose to try and discourage people. It didn't work on the fan girls he had unfortunately. Sasuke had very few friends. In fact, his only friends, lay in his cousin Sai, who was a year older than him, His cousin Haku, who was about six months younger than him, his sister Karin, who was also a year older than him, and his best friend Neji Hyuga, who he spent every day in school with since they were in kindergarten. He did speak to his brother a lot. He also spoke to his older cousin Obito on a regular basis. But he wished he had a larger group of friends sometimes. It wasn't easy being a rich kid. Sasuke would soon find out how difficult being a rich kid could actually be.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay that's it for this chapter. Please R&R and tell me what you think. I'll be updating soon.


	2. Sanctuary

Okay all this is the second chapter of Pets of The Underground. Hope y'all like it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Two – Sanctuary.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto made his way with his family to Ichiraku Ramen. Once there, he saw his Uncle Inoichi with his two cousins, Ino and Deidara. He grinned at them happily. That was when he noticed his usual group of friends sat with them too. Naruto smiled so widely he thought his face might break.

"_This has got to be the best birthday ever!" _Naruto thought in his mind. His friends, Gaara Sabaku and his brother and sister, Kankuro and Temari, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, Chouji Akimichi, Shino Aburame, Lee Rock, Ten Ten Tsubaki and Matsuri Yotamuya, were all sat around one table. Naruto felt Ino jump and wrap her arms around his neck.

"Happy birthday Naruto!" She yelled happily. Naruto grinned at his cousin.

"Thanks Ino." Naruto said happily.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura and Kimmimaru found themselves in Charing Cross Tube Station. The pictures of Shakespeare, Queen Victoria and various other famous English Stalwarts were on the walls. Kimmimaru whistled a slight, sharp tune. Sakura held on to his hand tighter. She was frightened that someone would take her back to where she'd been. She had had enough trouble getting away in the first place. Suddenly a tall male with pale skin and silvery white hair appeared. Sakura didn't take the time to notice where he came from.

"Suigetsu this kid needs to get out of here. Think you can help her?" Kimmimaru asked.

"Yeah. Juugo's with me today. I'll be able to help her out fine." Suigetsu said softly.

"Don't worry about anything Sakura. You'll be fine now." Kimmimaru said kindly. He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura exclaimed. Kimmimaru turned to look at her.

"What'll happen to you?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing. I'll be fine. Don't worry, I'll find you one day and we'll catch up." Kimmimaru said kindly. Sakura felt a little tearful, as Kimmimaru wondered off down the slope at the very end of the platform, and disappeared back into the train tunnels. She felt as though she were losing a friend. Suigetsu looked her over.

"No wonder Orochimaru wanted you." Suigetsu said sadly. Sakura looked at him fearfully.

"It's okay. I said I'd help you, not turn you in. Where do you think you should go?" Suigetsu asked kindly.

"I think I should go to my Mother's house. Get some stuff before I disappear. Pick up my savings." Sakura said softly. Suigetsu smirked.

"If I were you I'd rob them blind. You're the one who's stepfather traded her cus he owed cash right?" Suigetsu asked.

"How did you know that?" Sakura asked.

"Juugo overheard. We hear a lot of stuff." Suigetsu stated. Sakura trembled, and wished her own mother hadn't subjected her to this.

"We'll take you where you need to go. Make sure you don't get seen by your guardians, then we can take you somewhere you can get your thoughts together. Hostels are always full in London. If you turn yourself in to a police station, they'll only take you home. You don't get many choices now." Suigetsu said sadly. He grabbed hold of Sakura's hand and started leading her along, to a flight of stairs at the other end of the platform, and upwards, taking Sakura through the tube station and further up, until they reached the streets. She'd noticed him swiping a card through a machine a few times. She didn't ask questions. Suigetsu led her outside to the streets, and walked further up until they got to a small side street. She saw a large teenage boy with reddish hair standing next to a van.

"Get in the back Sakura, that way none of Orochimaru's spies will catch sight of you." Suigetsu stated. Sakura bit her lip, but had no choice but to trust him. After all, Kimmimaru had saved her in the first place, and he seemed to trust them. She got into the van, and she heard the doors slam shut behind her. She curled up and held on to the back of the seat as the van started moving.

"Where do you live Sakura?" Suigetsu asked calmly.

"I live at thirty two Gladstone Avenue in Tottenham." Sakura replied.

"You know Tottenham, right Juugo?" Sakura heard Suigetsu asked.

"Yeah." Juugo replied.

"Just try and sleep Sakura, I'll wake you up when you get there." Suigetsu stated. Sakura nodded, as she already felt her eyes getting heavy. She put her backpack under her head and laid on it like a pillow. In moments, her eyes shut and she fell fast asleep.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto was sat with his friends laughing at something Kiba had said. He'd received a copy of Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, a black T-shirt with 'Join The Dark Side, We Have Ramen!' written on it in orange letters. He received an Orange Ipod Nano from his Uncle Inoichi. Deidara and Ino had already uploaded what they knew to be Naruto's favourite music on it. Naruto was very pleased with this item. He even had a mains charger so he didn't have to plug it into a computer. He received a new orange backpack with blue swirls all over it, and a pair of black, studded, fingerless gloves. He also got a black, hooded tracksuit top with 'Skillet' printed across the back, over a bloody rose and a copy of his favourite Skillet album, Comatose. He received twenty pound worth of Itunes vouchers each from Deidara and Ino. He'd obviously have to go round to their house or somewhere with a computer, to use the vouchers, but he'd be able to add tracks he liked onto his new Ipod, which was the main thing. He also received a special present from Gaara, who'd been his friend since kindergarten. A blues harp harmonica, still in a clean, white plastic case and ready to be used. Naruto grinned at Gaara happily.

"I haven't had one of these for years!" Naruto exclaimed happily, hugging the stoic redhead joyfully.

For the rest of the night, Naruto just spent his birthday with his friends and family, and basically had as much fun as he could. After all, it wasn't everyday you got the best birthday a kid like Naruto could ask for.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura felt herself being woken, and she turned to look at Suigetsu.

"We're here." Suigetsu said kindly. She nodded and got out of the back of the van. It was night time now, and the house seemed dark.

"We'll wait until morning Sakura. Your parents both go to work right?" Suigetsu asked. Sakura nodded.

"Well we'll just park round the corner or something. It's better to wait until they're not in. That way you've got less chance of getting caught." Suigetsu stated. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Just get in the van and go back to sleep Sakura. It'll be okay." Suigetsu said softly. Sakura nodded. She was sleepy and her father had always told her that everything always looked brighter in the morning.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke was sat at the dinner table with his cousins, Obito, Sai and Haku. His older brother Itachi and older sister Karin were also there. Their parents weren't around but that was nothing unusual for Sasuke.

"How was your day little brother?" Itachi asked, as he elegantly cut up his food. Sasuke glared slightly.

"Why can't I go to a normal school where people don't know I'm rich?" Sasuke asked.

"Because you get a better education at a private school little brother." Itachi replied.

"Don't worry Sasuke, we all had to go through it. You, Sai and Haku still have to. It's just a part of being an Uchiha." Obito told Sasuke cheerfully. Sasuke could imagine Obito having trouble fitting in.

"Did you make any friends at that damn school?" Sasuke asked.

"Language at the table little brother!" Karin exclaimed.

"Sorry Karin." Sasuke muttered.

"Well actually I didn't. I made friends when I was outside this compound. In fact I made two really good friends when I went to my Martial Arts classes." Obito said kindly. Sasuke sighed.

"_I knew he'd say that."_ Sasuke thought to himself.

xXxXxXx THE NEXT MORNING xXxXxXx

Sakura was now in her former home. She walked up to her own room, and grabbed some clothing.

"_I'd better go and have a shower. I think it's the last one I'm going to have for a long time."_ Sakura thought to herself sadly. She went into the bathroom and turned on the spray. She pulled off the school uniform she'd spent the last twenty-four hours in, and got into the shower. The hot water felt heavenly on her skin, and Sakura just washed her hair and soaped her skin quite happily. Once she was done, she got dressed into a pair of jeans, and a long sleeved green t-shirt. It was baggy and Sakura was glad for the comfort it provided her. She threw on a pair of tough, black leather boots, and went back into her bedroom. She threw various warm, long-sleeved t-shirts and jumpers into a duffel bag. She threw in some pairs of jeans, underwear and such. She looked around her room for anything she wanted to take with her. She knew she wouldn't be coming back, so she looked around carefully. She pulled out her diary, and placed it in her bag, along with a pink teddy bear that her father had given her and a pair of red converse trainers she'd saved up for. She found a picture of her and her parents before they'd split up. She decided to take that too, and a small statue she had of the Virgin Mary. She only had one pendant that she clipped around her neck. It was a gold heart-shaped locket, and inside it was a picture of her and her father at a theme park, before her mother had suddenly decided she couldn't see him anymore. On the other side was an inscription.

"_You'll always be in my heart Cherry blossom. Love Daddy."_ Sakura read silently, as she closed the locket. Sakura found her hidden savings, and counted it up to about two hundred pounds. She'd been saving because her mother had told her they were going on holiday to America.

"_All lies, she probably hoped I'd save and she'd be able to find it later."_ Sakura thought bitterly. She placed the money into her favourite pink purse that was dotted with cherry blossoms. Sakura bit her lip, as she felt tears of hurt well up in her eyes. She went to go downstairs and saw a picture on the staircase. It was a picture of her mother and her stepfather. Sakura glared at it angrily and pulled it off the wall. She threw it down the stairs angrily, where the frame and glass smashed, sending sharp slivers cascading across the floor.

That was when Suigetsu came flying in. Sakura had left the back door open.

"You alright Sakura?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. But I'm going to take your advice." Sakura stated. He blinked.

"I'll find all the cash I can find and hide it on me." Sakura stated. She searched her Mother and Stepfather's room, and found over five hundred pounds in notes. She split all her cash and hid it in separate places. She hid some money in her shoes, down her bra, and in pockets on her duffel bag. She split it all up making sure that no matter what happened she'd have money. She found that there was no jewellery in this room. _"They must've pawned it."_ Sakura thought to herself. She searched the whole house thoroughly and found another hundred pounds, hidden behind the tins in a cupboard. She grabbed her green coat, and pulled it on, pulling up the hood to hide her face. She hid the money she had found as she left the house. She felt a burning hate for her mother and stepfather bubbling under her skin as she got into the back of the van.

"If you guys can get me to Greenwich, that'd be great." Sakura said softly. Suigetsu nodded. Soon they were off.

When the van stopped and Suigetsu and Juugo let her out, she looked around the streets of Greenwich. It seemed clean and neat. Just the sort of place that Sakura could imagine her father living in. Sakura knew this was the start of a new life, but she didn't know how rough it was going to be as she looked for somewhere she could use to sleep.

"Good luck." Suigetsu and Juugo said kindly before they left. That was how Sakura started her new life. All alone in the world.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke was staring out of his bedroom window. He could see Obito having a conversation with two of his friends, and Sasuke wondered when he would make a couple of friends that would just appreciate him for himself. Sasuke knew that Obito's male friend worked for the Uchiha security firm. He knew the woman worked at the local hospital.

That was when there was a knock on his door. He uttered a greeting before looking out of the window again. His parents entered the room.

"Sasuke, we need to talk to you for a minute." Sasuke heard his mother say softly. He turned to look at his mother and father.

"We have had reports that someone inside your school means you harm. You, your cousin's Sai and Haku, and your friend Neji, and his cousin Hinata will be moving to a comprehensive school after the half-term holidays. The Hyuga's are friends of ours and have received threats of danger inside the school, so despite how we might detest it you will be attending a comprehensive school with poorer children." Sasuke's father stated. Sasuke blinked and looked at his parents carefully.

"Is this a dream?" Sasuke asked.

"More like a nightmare. I understand it will be so hard for you to leave most of your friends behind." Sasuke's mother replied gently. Sasuke just nodded. He knew his parents didn't understand that he hated the private school he'd been attending and was quite glad to go to a comprehensive school. He grinned widely once his parents had left his room. He knew life would get better with no one knowing he was rich. He also had a whole week to perfect the kind of image he wanted to display to his new classmates.

xXxXxXx THAT EVENING xXxXxXx

Sakura had her locket hidden beneath her jacket as she walked the streets. She was looking for somewhere she could stay comfortably for the night. She knew that whatever money she had wouldn't help her to get a hotel room. She was too young to go into a hotel. After all, you had to be eighteen to book a hotel room. She was shaking with the cold, and she wanted to find somewhere warm. She knew that she wasn't going to be lucky on that front. In fact she'd be lucky if it didn't rain. She then noted the University of Greenwich, tall buildings rising into the sky, and decided to look around it. At least for a little while.

She walked to the nearest building, which had a plaque on the wall, next to the door. _Stephen Lawrence Building_ in big capital letters was written on the blue plaque in white. She walked round the building and came to another one, which was called the _Dreadnought_ building. She took note that a couple of the students who came out said the library was in there. She saw through the clear glass doors, that someone at a security desk was asking for student passes. There was a wooden door that led into a small shop, right to the left of the clear glass doors. Sakura walked in there and saw they sold coffee, drinks and various other things. She bought herself a cup of coffee and a chocolate muffin, and a bottle of water. She knew she had to try saving as much money as she could until she figured out what she was going to do. She left the shop, despite its warmth, and saw that there were plenty of places to hide around the entrance way, outside the library, all of them were next to walls. Sakura waited until no one was watching and found her way to a stair well. It faced a wall, and Sakura knew no one could see her. At least she would be relatively safe. After all, who would bother to come looking for her at a university library? She snuggled into a corner, despite how cold she was and tried to nurse the foul tasting coffee. This was the first time she'd even bothered trying it. But there was little else that would keep her minutely warm. She decided at that moment that coffee was the most awful tasting concoction she'd ever deemed necessary to touch her tongue.

xXxXxXx A FEW DAYS LATER xXxXxXx

Sakura walked into the church. She had only decided a few hours ago that this was where she needed to go. Her father had bought her here as a child and she would never forget the few times she had been bought here.

"_Maybe, the priest might know where my father is. If it's the same priest? Dad knew the priest here. He must have come a lot. Even if they don't know where he is, I can ask for sanctuary."_ Sakura thought to herself. That was when she had got to see him in London. They'd moved so many times that Sakura was sure her mother never told her Dad where she was.

Everything gleamed with a cleanness that she hadn't experienced since she was a small child. She could see a blond teenage girl singing Ave Maria as the priest played the piano in the background. She slowly walked down the aisle, running her hands along the wooden benches every so often. She looked up to see a beautiful golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It lit the church brightly, and made the colours of the many stained, glass windows, dance upon the walls, like many beautiful rainbows. Sakura whet her lips with her tongue unconsciously as she looked closer at the priest. He was new. When she had come to this church with her father the priest had been older. This one had brown hair, tied into a welcoming ponytail and a scar across his nose. There was something very familiar about him, but Sakura couldn't concentrate on that. Right now all Sakura needed was to gain sanctuary. She could never go back to living with her mother and stepfather. If she could find her father, and maybe get to know him, then she might have a chance to get away from the underground world she'd been so thoroughly sucked into within the last few days. Sleeping rough hadn't helped her. She was a mess. She was frightened and alone in the world, with no one to comfort her, and her whole outlook on life had now changed. Nothing would ever be the same again. This church was the last place she had felt truly safe. That was when a blond angel stood in front of her. She was so shocked she just burst into tears.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto stared at the pink-haired teen standing before him, sobbing her heart out. Tears dripped down her cheeks, and Naruto could see she was frightened and looked as though she'd been sleeping rough. He sat the girl down on one of the several benches within the pews. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, trying to offer some form of comfort to the girl.

"It's alright. You're safe here." Naruto said to her softly. His Uncle Iruka came towards them to see what the commotion was about. Once the girl had managed to contain her crying, Iruka began to speak to the girl.

"What's your name kiddo?" Iruka asked kindly.

"Sakura." She replied softly. Her voice laced with the trace of sobs.

"What happened to you?" Iruka asked her gently.

"I need your help Father." She said brokenly. Her expression was heartbreaking.

"What do you need me to help you with sweetheart?" Iruka asked her.

"I need to ask for sanctuary Father. I have no one else I can ask." She asked. Naruto stared at the girl incredulously. She didn't seem very religious. But that wasn't something to judge on appearance alone.

"Why would you need sanctuary here Sakura?" Iruka asked softly.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura looked at the priest and the blond boy. She felt fear and doubt coursing through her veins.

"_If I don't tell him my last name or anything about my mother he can't send me home."_ She thought to herself.

"_I need to trust someone."_ She added silently. So she spilled her story. How she'd been stopped from seeing her father, the moving away, her stepfather, then how her mother and stepfather had tried to sell her to Orochimaru, her escape and the last few days living rough. Also she told him how she wanted to find her father. She could see the shock on their faces.

"Please Father! Please don't try and make me go home! If you don't want me here then that's okay I'll leave but my father used to bring me here when I was little, and he always said it was a safe place!" Sakura pleaded. Her eyes welled up with tears.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Iruka stared at the young teenager before him. He'd heard some horror stories in his time, but this one was something that bothered him. This girl looked familiar, and he couldn't figure out how. He gave her a smile.

"Alright Sakura. I'm Father Iruka Umino. You can stay here." Iruka told her. He saw her eyes widen in recognition.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura looked at the priest in astonishment.

"Do you know a man named Kakashi Hatake?" She asked softly.

"Yes he's my foster brother." The priest replied. Sakura felt a weight lift from her heart.

"You are the same Iruka I was thinking of." Sakura breathed out.

"My father's name is Kakashi Hatake. I didn't get his surname because my parents never married. I wanted to find him. I hoped that I could stay with him." Sakura said softly. She opened the locket around her neck, and showed Iruka the picture.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto saw the picture in the girl's locket and recognised his Uncle Kakashi straight away. He looked at the frightened girl, who seemed to be almost pleading for help she obviously needed. Naruto pulled out his mobile phone.

"What are you up to Naruto?" His Uncle Iruka asked him.

"I'm gonna call Grandma and Grandpa and see if they can get in touch with Uncle Kakashi, and then I'm gonna call Mom and Dad and see if Sakura can stay with us." Naruto stated seriously.

"She's my cousin so that means we should be looking after her right?" Naruto added. Iruka nodded with a soft smile on his face. Naruto started making calls then.

Yugito, who'd been singing when Sakura walked in, came over to look at her. Sakura looked up at Yugito warily.

"You have a beautiful singing voice." Sakura said softly. Yugito smiled widely.

"Thanks kid. So you're Uncle Kakashi's daughter? He said he hadn't been able to see you for years." Yugito stated. Sakura looked at Yugito sadly.

"Do you think that he'll want to see me now?" Sakura asked quietly. Yugito grinned at Sakura brightly.

"Of course he will." Yugito replied.

Naruto walked over to them a few minutes later.

"Dad said that your mom has already been looking for you at our flat." Naruto said softly. Sakura stared wide-eyed at Naruto.

"She never told me that she knew where any of my uncles lived. She told me she didn't keep in touch." Sakura said quietly, her eyes betraying the shock she was feeling.

"What else did Dad say Naruto?" Yugito asked.

"He said bring Sakura round. Uncle Iruka explained everything to Dad and he said there is no way he's making you go home under those circumstances. He said he's going to call Uncle Kakashi himself from work." Naruto said gently. Sakura looked at Yugito and Naruto.

"It's okay Sakura. Even if there's a problem and your mom finds out you're staying with us before we get hold of your dad, I live at college and our older brother Kyubi lives at university. So there will be somewhere else for you to go while we find your dad." Yugito said kindly. Sakura couldn't help but start crying again. This time from relief. She was so glad she wouldn't have to stay on the streets any longer that she couldn't stop herself from crying. Finally she had somewhere to go.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay end of this chapter. I know it took me ages to update. I'm a terrible person. Just for reference, I'm not sure if all churches do this, I know Catholic and Orthodox churches do, but when someone is in trouble, and needs somewhere safe to stay, they can ask the priest for sanctuary. If the priest grants it, then the person can stay in some spare room in the church without fear of the whereabouts being divulged to anyone. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R and let me know what you think.


	3. New Start

Okay, here's chapter three. I hope you all like it and such. Thanks to everyone who R&R and added me to their faves and alerts lists.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Three – New Start.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kakashi was sat at his kitchen table, talking to Obito and Rin. They were his oldest and closest friends.

"So Sasuke, Haku and Sai are going to go to the same school as my nephew now?" Kakashi asked amusedly. Obito nodded.

"Yeah. I suggested the school. I suppose because I know your nephew goes there. Itachi agreed with me. After all, I made good friends with you and Rin at our martial arts classes. It's time Sasuke, Sai and Haku made friends outside the rich people's world. I think Sasuke was unbelievably happy. Now that he's finished at that posh school he's actually thinking about becoming sociable." Obito replied.

"How do you know that?" Rin asked.

"I saw him looking at himself in the mirror and trying to find the cheapest looking of his clothing. He just wants to fit in." Obito answered. He gave his two friends a grin. Kakashi smirked.

"Don't worry Obito. I'm sure that Naruto will make them feel welcome. He's a good kid." Kakashi reassured Obito.

"So you've fixed this place up pretty good Kakashi. It was a wreck when you snagged it." Obito stated. Kakashi smirked.

"Yeah, it's pretty much done. A couple of extra coats of paint upstairs and I'll be able to tell Minato and Kushina to stop living in that hovel." Kakashi stated.

"It's their home Kakashi you shouldn't insult it like that." Rin said gently.

"They barely have working heating Rin. They have to live hand to mouth, because their damn landlord is a con artist. He charges them well over the right amount for rent. I don't want my brother and his family to live like that forever Rin. He's my older brother. I mean when things were hard he was there. Jiraiya and Tsunade were the only parents I ever had. Iruka feels the same way." Kakashi replied. Rin nodded.

"Yeah I remember how bad it was for you and Iruka in the children's home. I remember how happy you and Iruka were to actually have your own place to go to after school." Rin stated happily.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. That was when he heard his mobile ring. He saw _Minato Work_ flashing across the screen and wondered what exactly it was that Minato wanted. He picked up the phone and greeted Minato warily.

"What's wrong Minato?" Kakashi asked. He knew his older brother never called him from work unless it was urgent.

"_It's Sakura."_ Minato said on the other side of the phone.

"What about Sakura?" Kakashi asked. He was more alert now.

"_You remember I told you that her mother was looking for her at our flat yesterday? She turned up at the church. Iruka's heard one hell of a horror story from her Kakashi. She's going to stay with us tonight until you can get back. If you can get back today it might be a good idea. Iruka can tell you more. But apparently, she's a mess. She's been living rough for a few days."_ Minato stated sternly.

"I'll be at your place by seven tonight." Kakashi replied before hanging up.

Obito looked at Kakashi.

"I heard Sakura mentioned. Your daughter? You haven't seen the kid for years." Obito stated.

"That was down to her mother. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to her if I can help it." Kakashi stated.

"If you need anything, then just tell me Kakashi." Obito replied. Rin added a nod of agreement.

"I'll hold you to it. Right now I'd better get going. I'm going to get that extra paint, and then I'm going to go and see my daughter." Kakashi stated. He left then and Obito and Rin grinned.

"Well he always was a good parent." Obito stated. Rin grinned happily.

xXxXxXx A FEW HOURS LATER xXxXxXx

Sakura was sitting in Naruto's living room. Iruka was there, as well as Yugito. It was nearly six o clock. That was when Naruto heard a key turn in the lock, and heard two sets of feet walk into the flat.

"Hey Mom, Dad, you're back early?" Naruto called out. Minato and Kushina walked into the front room and gave their youngest child beaming grins. Sakura looked up at her Aunt and Uncle, feeling awkward. She hadn't seen them in years, longer then the last time she'd seen her father. Minato gave Sakura a grin.

"Hey Sakura. It's been a while hasn't it? You definitely grew. Last time I saw you, was when you were about... six?" Minato stated warmly. Sakura nodded.

"I'm sorry if I'm causing trouble." Sakura said softly.

"Come on, you need to eat something." Kushina said firmly. She went into the kitchen and put the old gas stove on.

"Would you like some pasta?" Kushina asked Sakura softly. Sakura nodded rapidly. A good meal was something she hadn't had for a few days. She had been too scared to stay anywhere for too long, so she kept moving.

When the clock hit seven, Sakura heard a knock at the door. She saw Naruto go to open it.

"Hey Uncle Kakashi!" She heard Naruto yell happily. Sakura waited with baited breath. That was when he walked into the room. Her father. She would recognise him anywhere. She saw him grin happily.

"Sakura? You've grown up." Her father said. She couldn't help but leap up and hug her father tightly. She needed the comfort of knowing that she was actually seeing her father for the first time in years. She felt him hug her back just as tightly. He looked at the group around him.

"I was going to tell you this next week but I might as well say it now. Minato, pack your damn bags and move it. You're all coming to live with me." Kakashi stated. Naruto, Kushina and Minato's jaws dropped unceremoniously. Yugito stared bug eyed and Iruka just blinked.

"How are we going to come and live with you bro?" Minato asked curiously.

"Well I've been putting most of my wage packet into a new house that I purchased. Six bedrooms, spacious, nice back garden. It was really run down, but I've been spending my spare time doing it up. It's all finished now. Your lease is up next week. Don't bother renewing it. This place isn't worth the money that you pay for it." Kakashi stated. The group were all wide-eyed.

"Are you serious?" Minato asked.

"Of course I'm serious. It means that Yugito can stop living at the college, and you can all have a decent heating system." Kakashi stated seriously. Minato looked at Kushina, then at Naruto and Yugito.

"We can always call Kyubi-Aniki and tell him where we're living." Naruto said gently. Both Minato and Kushina shook their heads at their youngest child.

"Anywhere is better than here Minato." Kushina added. Minato nodded.

"I guess we're coming to stay with you then Kakashi." Minato stated.

"But I will be giving you rent. We both know I'm not one for charity." Minato added. Kakashi grinned.

"Then let's get going." Kakashi stated. The group started packing away the things they were going to take. Everyone looking forward to a new beginning for their family.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all. That's the end of this chapter. I hope you all liked it. Please R&R and let me know what you think.


	4. Confrontation

Okay here is the fourth chapter of Pets of the Underground. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed and all that jazz.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Four – Confrontation.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

After the family were all packed, Naruto, Yugito and Sakura went in Kakashi's car. Minato and Kushina went in Iruka's car. They didn't have much at all. The flat was furnished with grotty furniture that was falling to pieces. Minato had already gone and got his deposit from the landlord, which had almost turned into a fight. However, Kakashi had stepped in and the Landlord had scared pretty quickly at seeing Kakashi's car, which has the Uchiha clan symbol on it. After all, Kakashi did work for them and no one messed with the Uchiha family. Naruto and Yugito had packed not only their own things but Kyubi's things as well. After all, he couldn't pack for himself.

As the group drove away, Naruto gave Sakura a wide grin.

"We're going to live somewhere with heating Sakura." Naruto stated cheerfully.

"And working hot water." Kakashi added. Naruto grinned even more. Sakura watched the scenery as they passed. She saw her father smile after a while, as they passed a canal.

"Where are we Dad?" Sakura asked softly.

"On the Dockland Light Railway we're somewhere between South Quay and Heron Quay. Our home is that house at the end." Kakashi pointed out. Naruto and Sakura stared with wide eyes at the three storey house.

"It used to be three flats meshed together and it was a total wreck when I bought it. But it has plenty of room. I spent a lot of time working on it." Kakashi added. Sakura couldn't help but somehow feel she was intruding. Kakashi gave Sakura a sad look.

"You do know Sakura that there was always a room for you don't you?" Kakashi asked softly. Sakura looked up at her father.

"I painted it cherry blossom pink. Just for you. I don't know if you still love that colour as much as you used to. We can always change it." Kakashi added. Sakura shook her head.

"No! I love that colour. Mom hated it when I asked to paint my room cherry blossom pink. She said that the white paint that was in the room was good enough." Sakura didn't say anymore. She nipped her lip unconsciously as her anxieties about her mother came back to her.

"I don't want to go back to live with her Dad. Her husband is awful. He's the one that sold me to Orochimaru like I'm property. Mom just... agreed." Sakura said sadly.

"Don't worry Sakura. I'm going to sort everything out. My friend is making some calls for me so that I can have legal custody of you." Kakashi reassured his daughter. Sakura gave her father a large smile. They parked in the driveway of the house and got out of the car. Yugito hadn't spoken a word during the journey. Her curiosity getting the better of her for once. Iruka parked up behind them, across the driveway and the trio got out of the car and walked over.

Kakashi went to the door and opened it. The smell of fresh paint hit the group immediately.

"I just finished the paint work today." Kakashi replied. They walked in to see a dark haired male standing in the kitchen. Kakashi gave the man a smile.

"Hey Obito. What's up?" Kakashi asked. Obito grinned.

"I thought I'd stick around so your windows and doors could be left open. The paint smell is never nice." Obito stated cheerfully.

Naruto grinned widely.

"Hey Obito-San!" Naruto exclaimed happily. Obito grinned.

"You're Naruto I've met you a few times before." Obito stated. Then he looked at Sakura.

"This must be Sakura." Obito said softly. Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah this is my daughter." Kakashi replied. Sakura didn't notice that she had grabbed hold of Naruto's hand until he gently squeezed her hand back. Obito grinned.

"Don't worry kid. You'll be alright here." Obito stated cheerfully. Sakura couldn't help but smile at Obito's cheerful personality. It reminded her of Naruto in a lot of ways.

xXxXxXx LATER THAT NIGHT xXxXxXx

Sasuke and Sai both looked at Obito as if he'd gone completely nuts.

"You're taking us where?" Sasuke asked.

"To meet my friend Kakashi's nephew and daughter. They're going to be going to the same school as you. Don't worry, Neji and Hinata are coming too. Kakashi's daughter, Sakura, is going to be a new student the same as you four, but Naruto, Kakashi's nephew, has been at the school for a while. So getting to know him might just benefit you." Obito stated. Sasuke shrugged, not sure how to really take the information, and went to his room to think about this meeting that would be happening the next day.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kakashi stared at the files on his desk. He looked to see Sakura looking in from the doorway.

"It's okay Sakura. You can come in." Kakashi said softly. Sakura nodded and went to sit down on one of the chairs. She was wearing a pair of Yugito's pyjamas, because she didn't have any of her own. They were blue with little cat paws all over them.

"What are you looking at Dad?" Sakura asked.

"Legal papers. Obito left them with me. These will allow me to keep custody of you." Kakashi said softly.

"What if Mom tries to fight for custody of me?" Sakura asked. Kakashi sighed, looking at the papers sadly.

"I didn't want to have to say this to you Sakura, but it's doubtful that she will come and fight for custody of you. After what she allowed your stepfather to do, she would be too frightened to come to court and have it revealed. So even if she did want you back, so that she could keep you, or sell you on, she wouldn't be able to do it." Kakashi replied gently. Sakura nodded and watched as her father carried on looking at the custody papers.

"How did you get a hearing so fast?" Sakura asked.

"Obito has a lot of connections. He's one of the Uchiha family lawyers. You wouldn't think so, but he's very serious about his job and shows it in court." Kakashi replied.

"Is he representing you?" Sakura asked.

"Yes he is. He's an expert in all fields of law. His main caseload usually consists of criminal law. But he's very capable of representing us in a civilian issue." Kakashi replied. Sakura nodded and stood up from the chair she'd been sitting on.

"I'm going to go to bed Dad. Goodnight." Sakura said softly.

"Sweet dreams Sakura." Kakashi replied. Sakura grinned as she went up the stairs to bed.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all that's the end of this chapter. Please R&R and let me know what you think. Also I'm not promising that I'll be quick with my updates. I'm really busy studying for my uni exams at the moment, so it may be a while before you get an update. See you next update people.


	5. Friendships Formed

Here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or added me to their faves or alerts lists. It's very much appreciated.

Also I hate to inform you all but I will have no internet for the next four weeks. I am going to be in Cyprus, on holiday with my lovely family (God help me) and there is no internet in my grandparent's place. But I will be writing updates while I'm over there and you will get a new chapter when I come back. I promise.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Five – Friendships Formed.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura and Naruto were sat in the kitchen that morning. Usually Sakura would have felt awkward, but Naruto was so cheerful and chatty that she couldn't find it within herself to be shy around the blond. That was when Kakashi arrived in the kitchen.

"Hey you two. Naruto, what's Yugito up to?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.

"I think she said she had a lesson at college today. I dunno if she left yet." Naruto replied.

"Your Mom and Dad already left for work. But they won't have to work so much now hopefully." Kakashi stated.

"Dad do I have to go to court today?" Sakura asked softly. Kakashi shook his head.

"No Sakura not today. We're going on Friday. But you two are going to get to meet some new classmates today." Kakashi replied. Naruto and Sakura both looked confused.

"If all goes well on Friday then Sakura will be going to the same school as you Naruto. Obito's two cousins and two of their friends are transferring to your school. They'll be in your class." Kakashi stated. Then he ruffled the hair of both teens and left the kitchen, leaving Naruto and Sakura to ponder the situation.

"Hey Naruto?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"Yeah Sakura?" Naruto questioned back.

"It's a hot day today right?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded.

"Let's go and wash Dad's car!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto thought about it for a moment. Hot weather, cold water and drenching his uncle's prized BMW. Naruto grinned evilly.

"Yeah let's go!" Naruto yelled.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day, Sasuke, Sai, Neji and Hinata were sat in Obito's car.

"So this friend of yours has a daughter who's going to be in the same class as us, and a nephew too?" Sasuke asked.

"That's right Sasuke. Naruto is pretty loud and Sakura is just a normal teenage girl." Obito replied.

"Doesn't that mean she's going to be ogling Sasuke, Neji and I?" Sai asked.

"Of course not. I said she's normal, not a rabid fangirl." Obito replied. Sasuke and Neji both looked at each other and then carried on being impassive. Soon Obito had driven into an area that none of the teens had ever dreamt about. Of course South Quay was not the most posh or luxurious of places. But it was a lot nicer than some of the places in London. The group were curious by the way other teenagers were acting. They saw one boy yelling at another one to come and ride down to the canal. They saw one girl arguing with a smaller girl (they assumed the two were sisters) and they saw an older woman come out to scold them. Soon they were driving up another street, and the teens couldn't help but take note of the two teenagers in one driveway. One girl, with cherry blossom pink hair, was helping a blond boy to wash a car. The boy had just squirted the girl with a hose and she yelled in surprise. Then she grabbed a bucket and dumped it all over the boys head. Both teens were laughing loudly as they started chasing each other around the car. The girl now had the hose. They all stared as Obito parked his car next to the car being washed and opened his window.

"Hey Naruto! Sakura is your dad inside?" Obito asked. Naruto gave the widest grin and a thumbs up. Water was dripping from his blond bangs down his face. Sakura nodded, allowing a shower of water drops to fall to the ground.

"Yeah Dad is inside. We were just washing the car. It's warm today." Sakura replied cheerfully.

"Hey you two, have you finished with the car?" The six heads turned to look at Kakashi. Sasuke recognised him straight away.

"Yeah Dad we're done. We were just rinsing the soap off." Sakura replied.

"Oh yeah of course you were. Just where did you two creating an outdoor shower come into the equation?" Kakashi asked.

"It is a hot day Uncle Kakashi." Naruto replied. Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"You two go and change out of those wet clothes. Looks like our guests are on time. Which with Obito driving is a shock." Kakashi stated. Obito pouted and the group got out of the car.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke was watching Naruto and Sakura interact. He'd never seen other kids, apart from those of wealthy families, and this was a totally new experience. Then Naruto's older sister came down the stairs.

"Hey Naruto! Sakura! How long have you two been up? It's the holidays!" The blond girl stated cheerfully.

"I'm used to getting up early Yugito." Sakura replied.

"Besides sis if we all slept in as late as you we'd never do anything with our day." Naruto quipped. Yugito slapped her brother upside the head, then pulled him in for a hug and ruffled his hair.

"Idiot! Don't say stupid stuff like that!" Yugito exclaimed. Naruto just grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"That hurt sis. How can you be sooo mean to your baby brother?" Naruto questioned, with a large pout on his face. Sasuke was fascinated by the relationships that the kids in this family seemed to share. After all, it was so different to the way he interacted with his own family.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day Kakashi decided to send Naruto to the shops, and Obito picked Sasuke to go with him. The pair were walking down the road when Naruto asked Sasuke a question.

"How comes you guys are so quiet? I mean I know I'm loud but seriously, you guys are way too quiet." Naruto quipped.

"Why are you so loud Dobe?" Sasuke asked back.

"I'm loud because I've always been loud Teme! Now answer my question." Naruto shot back.

"I'm not used to you yet. I'm sure I'll get a little louder when I know you better." Sasuke replied. Naruto grinned.

"Well, my favourite food is Ramen, my favourite colour is orange, my favourite music is rock and I like playing Guitar Hero on XBOX when I go to my friend Kiba's house. My parents can't afford for me to go and get an XBOX. At least not at the moment." Naruto stated. Sasuke blinked.

"Now it's your turn Sasuke-Teme." Naruto added. Sasuke pouted as he thought about it.

"My favourite food is tomatoes. My favourite colour is dark blue. I also like listening to rock but I also listen to Heavy Metal. I do have an XBOX but I haven't played Guitar Hero." Sasuke admitted.

"It's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke smiled softly back at the blond boy. In that moment a friendship was formed.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura was sat with Hinata while Neji and Sai stared at the walls. Hinata seemed extremely quiet.

"Hey Hinata are you okay?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded.

"I kn-know that I-I'm t-t-too quiet. E-e-everyone says that I'm sh-sh-shy." Hinata replied softly. Sakura smiled.

"Don't worry Hinata. I don't care if you're shy. I'm starting at the school on Monday, the same as you are. We'll be alright. Besides Naruto wouldn't let anything happen to either of us there." Sakura said gently. Hinata smiled and blushed at the mention of Naruto. Sakura could tell that the other girl already had a rather large crush on her cousin.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that night, Sasuke, Sai, Neji and Hinata were sat in the car.

"What did you think?" Neji asked Sasuke softly.

"They're not at all how I thought they would be." Sasuke replied.

"I thought they would act like dogs in heat or something." Sai quipped.

"They're humans Sai, not animals. Just because they're not rich doesn't make them any the less human." Sasuke shot back.

"I liked them." Hinata added to the conversation. The three boys stared at Hinata curiously. This was the first time she hadn't stuttered after meeting someone new. The three boys then smiled to each other and all four teens were looking forward to school just that little bit more. Sasuke was planning on going shopping to find one thing. Guitar Hero on XBOX.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, that's the end of this chapter. I know it was a bit dense and not the best chapter, but I will have written better chapters when I come back from Cyprus. Please R&R and let me know what you think.


	6. Justice

Okay here is the next chapter. I hope everyone likes it. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and to anyone who added me to their faves and author alerts.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Six – Justice.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

It was now Wednesday. Naruto had introduced Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, Hinata, and Neji to his large group of friends. Of course the group were accepting without question. Today the boys sat on Kiba's XBOX and Sasuke had bought round all the different Guitar Hero games that he'd bought. Each boy had their own guitars and microphones. Shino had his own little Guitar Hero drum kit. The girls however, had gone to a cinema to watch a film. Of course Kakashi had dropped the girls at the cinema, and he said to Sakura to make sure to call him to pick them up. She knew why this was. Until a court decided to give her father custody of her, her stepfather or her mother could snatch her from the streets. An even worse fate may have been that Orochimaru, or one of his henchmen might catch sight of her and snatch her themselves. She'd been lucky to escape the first time, and she wasn't sure if she'd have the same kind of luck twice.

She was quite surprised about how the girls acted. While Sakura wasn't nearly as sheltered as Hinata, Sakura hadn't ever been given money to go out. She'd had to take several jobs to get even a small amount of money, such as babysitting, a paper round, and handyman jobs like helping old ladies with their gardens. Even that small pittance that she received from her odd jobs was usually taken by her mother, who always promised to put the money into her bank account but never did. Whatever money Sakura had left from what she'd taken from her home, she had put in to her bank account. It was her account anyway. Her father had set the account up years ago. He'd put a large sum in there from when she was born, and kept it on high interest. Sakura knew that she could do what she wanted with the cash that had gathered in her account over the years. She didn't however. She was quite happy to let the money keep gathering. Her mother had no real access to the account. Especially now that her father had talked to the bank and had her account placed in her control. But to finish the point, Sakura hadn't been to the cinema for a while. In fact not since she had been a young child and her father had taken her to see Disney films like Snow White or Bambi.

Hinata had been extremely sheltered. Going to a cinema with anyone, usually consisted of her cousin and younger sister. She usually went to a private theatre that one of her father's friends owned. This was a new experience for her. The girls had all decided to go and watch Sex and The City 2. Of course Sakura and Hinata had had to watch the first movie beforehand. Hinata hadn't been allowed to go and watch the first movie, and wasn't supposed to have watched the series, but with Sky TV in every room of the house at the Hyuga mansion, Hinata was at liberty to watch whatever she wished in her bedroom. Sakura hadn't had any kind of digital or cable television in her house and now that her father had Sky TV, she had found herself watching a lot of things that she hadn't been able to watch before.

Ino grinned widely as she saw the concessions stand and ran over to purchase her own favoured candies. Hinata and Sakura watched as Ten Ten, Temari and Ino carefully picked out the sweets they wanted, and giant bags of popcorn, along with drinks that were in huge cups. Hinata and Sakura looked wide eyed.

"_How can they possibly eat so much?"_ Was what the two girls were thinking.

"It's all about choice." Temari stated, almost as though she could hear their thoughts. Sakura and Hinata decided to share a large bag of popcorn and both got their own sweets as well as small drinks. Then the group went in to the theatre which read 'Screen 12' above it, and found their own perfect seats to watch the film.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Obito was cheerfully whistling and cleaning under his nails, while Itachi read a book that had 'The History of Wine Tasting' on the plain red cover. Fugaku Uchiha came in to the room with Hiashi Hyuga.

"Where are my daughter and nephew?" Hiashi asked Obito blandly.

"They're studying with Kakashi's daughter and nephew, as well as Sasuke and Sai." Obito replied. Both men nodded their approval and left the room, talking about how well accomplished their children were.

"I know you were lying about them studying." Itachi quipped. He didn't even look up from his book.

"I know you're not reading about the History of Wine Tasting." Obito quipped back. Itachi shrugged as he carried on reading. If one had looked over his shoulder they would have been reading pages from the amazing Icha Icha Paradise that had actually been written by Naruto's grandfather, Jiraiya.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto, Sasuke and Shino were all playing Misery Business on Guitar Hero. None of them sang to it but they were happy to be colour coded nutcases as they attempted not to make flat notes come out of the screen.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

After the movie finished, the girls waited inside the Cinema as Sakura called Kakashi to pick them up. Naruto had explained to the other girls that Kakashi picking them up was extremely important. The girls wanted to know what made it so important but Naruto said that he couldn't really talk about it at the moment, and they took it quite lightly in all circumstances. Mainly because they knew Naruto to be very honest and knew that if he couldn't say anything there must be a good reason.

"You know the first movie was better." Ino stated.

"Samantha is the best character in the movies and the series." Temari stated.

"Only because you want to be her when you get to eighteen." Ten Ten quipped. Temari smirked.

"Why not? She's a strong, independent woman who does what she feels like doing." Temari replied.

"She's also a bit of a slag." Ino quipped. Temari rolled her eyes.

"Oh so it's alright for men to sleep with every girl they meet and they're not slags, but if a woman does it?" Temari stated.

"Oh no T-Te-Temari. Men shouldn't be like that either." Hinata stuttered a little. Temari grinned at Hinata.

"At least someone agrees with that part of my argument." Temari said.

"Not all men are like that though." Sakura added.

"Like who?" Temari asked.

"Naruto?" Sakura questioned.

"He's your cousin. But I guess you're right. There's not a bad bone in the kid's body. I doubt he could add notches to a bedpost like that." Temari replied. That was when Kakashi pulled up, and the girls decided to get into his car quickly. After all they didn't want him to get a ticket. When the girls got back to the house however, they weren't surprised Kakashi had come to get them so quickly.

"Oh my God! Who murdered a cat?" Ino yelled. The boys all looked at the girls, and Ino took note that it was Kiba on the mike, attempting to sing to Van Halen's Hot for Teacher. She glared and snatched the mike from him.

"NO INO! WE'RE GONNA FAIL THE SONG!" The other boys yelled.

"I don't care! Kiba made my eardrums bleed! I deserve compensation!" Ino exclaimed. The other girls agreed wholeheartedly, holding their hands over their ears.

xXxXxXx FRIDAY xXxXxXx

Sakura was at a court, dressed in a smart blouse and jeans. She was worried about what would happen. However she never saw her mother or her stepfather once. She sat waiting in the lobby for someone to tell her she needed to go in, or for her father to come out and tell her they could leave. Naruto was sat next to her. Kyubi, Naruto's brother, was stood leaning against one of the walls. Sakura found that Kyubi was a rather gruff and sharp tongued teen. He was studying Criminal Law and Politics at Greenwich University apparently.

Naruto was wriggling around on his seat and Kyubi gave his younger brother a look.

"Where's the bathroom!" Naruto exclaimed after a moment. Kyubi pointed to a sign that pointed to the bathrooms. Naruto nodded and sped off leaving Sakura and Kyubi alone.

"You told Uncle Iruka, Naruto and Yugito that you spent time sleeping rough around the University?" Kyubi asked gruffly. Sakura nodded.

"I wish I'd known. You could've stayed in my dorm." Kyubi said softly. Sakura cocked her head to look at Kyubi.

"Really?" Sakura asked.

"Of course. You're my little cousin. Naruto's my little brother. I wouldn't let anything happen to either of you. If I ever see that fucker Orochimaru on the street I'll shank him." Kyubi stated. Sakura nodded and still they waited. Even after Naruto came back they seemed to be waiting forever. That was when someone came to the door and called Sakura into the room. She saw her father come out and she felt nervousness grip her, but she swallowed it down as she stepped in to the room.

In front of her were a judge, Obito of course, and another person that Sakura didn't know. There was also someone typing everything that was said on a typewriter. The judge looked at Sakura carefully and kindly.

"Your name is Sakura Haruno. Is that correct?" The judge asked. Sakura nodded.

"Yes sir." Sakura replied gently.

"I want to ask you a few questions, and I would like you to answer them honestly, but that doesn't mean you're in any trouble. Any questions that I ask you are things that I wish to know for your benefit." The judge said kindly. Sakura nodded her understanding. The judge smiled and gestured for Sakura to come and sit next to him.

"You surely know that you are old enough to decide which parent you wish to live with." The judge started. Sakura nodded.

"Do you love your parents?" The judge asked.

"Yes sir." Sakura replied.

"What about your stepfather?" The judge asked.

"I've never gotten along with him sir." Sakura replied honestly.

"Can you tell me why?" The judge asked.

"He has a habit of taking every penny my mother earns and spending it, whether it's on drink or gambling. He treats me like I'm a nuisance and has never really made an effort to be in any part of my life." Sakura replied. The judge nodded.

"What about your father? It's been a very long time since you even had proper visitation with him." The judge asked.

"My mother stopped the visits. She had an argument with my father about my stepfather and ever since she's forbidden any contact." Sakura replied.

"That must have been very hard." The judge said.

"It was hard. I've missed seeing my father. It's also meant that I didn't really get to spend any time with my cousins also and I really like them." Sakura said.

"Would you like to see your mother?" The judge asked.

"No sir. I do love her, but she loves my stepfather more. She doesn't have any time for me." Sakura replied

"Who told you that?" The judge asked.

"No one sir. I found out for myself." Sakura replied. She knew that her father hadn't really discussed the incident that had bought her to him. Obito was working on that behind the scenes with the police. But she did know that her father was also hoping to get a restraining order against her mother and stepfather. This would prevent them coming along and taking her from the street or cornering her.

"Do you feel safe with your mother and stepfather?" The judge asked.

"No sir. I don't feel safe with them at all. That's why I left them." Sakura stated firmly.

"So if you had a choice on where you could live where would you decide?" The judge asked.

"I would live with my father sir." Sakura replied firmly.

"You don't have any aunts or uncles or other relatives that you feel closer to?" The judge asked. "No sir. When I lived with my mother we didn't see any relatives. Even if we did it's my father that I want to stay with." Sakura replied. The judge nodded and allowed Sakura to leave the room. When she left, she saw Kyubi and Naruto in the same places that they'd been at before. However her father was pacing the floor backwards and forwards. He looked worried.

"Dad?" Sakura questioned gently. Her father looked up at her and hugged her tightly.

"You're alright aren't you Sakura?" Kakashi asked his daughter gently. Sakura nodded.

"I'm fine. Who was the other man in the room?" Sakura asked.

"Your mother's lawyer. Though I don't think she hired that worm herself." Kakashi stated.

"You think Orochimaru sent the guy here right?" Kyubi questioned. Kakashi nodded. Sakura shuddered.

"If they say she's got to go to her Mom, I'll sneak her out the back. I know somewhere to hide her, where she'll be safe." Kyubi stated. Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura looked at Kyubi carefully. Kakashi nodded. It seemed like hours later when Obito came out of the room. He grinned.

"The judge says that although it's unusual, the fact that Sakura wants to stay with you has been taken into consideration. She's in your custody. The restraining order is a police thing that will be discussed next week. But it shouldn't be too hard to obtain. Until then, you make sure to keep a close eye on Sakura. She needs to be with someone at all times. Going out by herself is a no-no, not even to go to school. But that's not a problem because she'll be with Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Hinata and Neji. Her journey to school won't be alone. But should there be a time when there is a problem I'm sure you'll make arrangements." Obito stated. Sakura grinned, as Naruto jumped around cheering. Kyubi just smirked in his little corner. Sakura was now legally allowed to live with them and there wasn't anyone who could change that.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, very random chapter. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it. For reference, a "slag" is English slang for a girl who is loose with her sexual favours. Also "Shank" is English slang for stabbing someone. There are plenty of other slang words, but that one is popular, especially around where I live in London, so it just... popped out. LOL! Anyways, please R&R and let me know what you think. See you all next time I update.


	7. School Time

Okay all, here's the next chapter of Pets of the Underground. I hope you all like it. Thanks to anyone who read and reviewed and all that jazz. I hope you enjoy the chappie.

I'm sorry that it's taken me ages to update but life has been rather hectic for me lately, so I haven't been jumping at my laptop for a while. I've been rather busy helping my poor Mom to clean up the entire house. I'm not sure when I'll be updating next, but I try to make it a habit to update at least once or twice a month. You see my Mom is having surgery and she won't be allowed to move around a lot afterwards, so I will be (unfortunately as it were) taking over the household until she's up and about. I apologise to all of you that have to wait for my updates, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your patience everyone.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Seven – School Time.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Monday morning came, and Sakura found herself wondering exactly what her new school would be like. After all, she'd been at one school throughout her secondary school life, and now she would be going to a new school. The school was called Orchid Garden Secondary School. Sakura had given her father an extremely dirty look when he stated that a school named after a flower would be the best place for his daughter. Naruto had continued to be amused by the dispute until his mother had given him a firm whack to the back of the head and told Naruto to stop teasing his cousin. Now, Sakura was sitting in the sitting room with Naruto, dressed in her new uniform. A royal blue blazer, black skirt, white shirt and black tie, along with black shoes and tights. Naruto wore the same uniform, but of course he wore black trousers and he hated his blazer. He wore a black long coat over his uniform instead, and his tie was in a loose knot around his neck. Sakura always wondered how Naruto managed to do as he wished without getting into any trouble. That was of course when the pair heard a beep from outside, and saw Obito's car waiting to take them, as well as Sasuke, Sai, Hinata and Neji, to school this morning. The pair grabbed their schoolbags and left the house, after hearing their respective parents shouting a goodbye to them. For Sakura, this was a new start.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

After they had been registered, Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, Sai and Hinata sat down with Naruto. They took note that most of Naruto's friends were sat around the room. As they sat waiting, Sakura wondered why Naruto looked so alert. It wasn't like him to seem on edge.

"This is our English class. I'll just warn you now. Our teacher is the devil." Naruto stated seriously. The others looked at him as if he'd grown an extra head.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"If you fall asleep in her class, talk without permission, whisper while she's giving the lesson, or even while you're supposed to be doing the work, she throws chalk and erasers at you. She once poured a bucket of cold water over Shikamaru because he was sleeping in the back of her class. She also springs pop quizzes on you out of nowhere. Just to see if you were paying attention in her class. If you get nearly all the questions wrong, then you get to stay behind at lunch or break and she tells you to study more. If you fail three times, you get detention." Naruto added. The other five looked disbelieving.

"It's true." The lazy boy behind them said.

"Thanks Shikamaru." Naruto stated. The lazy teen nodded and rested his head on his arms again. A muttered "Troublesome" escaped his lips.

That was when she arrived. Their teacher, Miss Rika McLaughlin, opened the door and swept into the room. Her clothes were casual. A pair of jeans, an orange three-quarter sleeved shirt and a pair of orange converse. She seemed extremely young to be their teacher. She was only five foot two, if she was even that in height. Her long chestnut brown hair was down, and her fringe swept to right side. Her olive coloured eyes swept the room calmly. She smiled almost angelically. However most of the class cringed at the smile.

"I see we have fresh meat. You five get out to the front here and introduce yourself to your English class." Their teacher stated. It wasn't a request, it was an order, and Sasuke glared at the idea of being ordered to do anything.

"Hey, emo kid, get your backside to the front. I personally don't care how you feel about authority figures. Do what everyone else does and complain about me after class." The female said nonchalantly.

Sasuke glared evilly at the teacher, who remained non-plussed about the situation. The group went down to the front and they all stared at the teacher in confusion.

"The sooner you introduce yourselves the sooner you can go back and hide in your seats." Miss McLaughlin stated. Sai stepped forward first.

"I'm Sai Uchiha." Sai stated blankly. Hinata blushed furiously as she stepped forwards.

"I-I-I'm Hi-Hi-Hinata Hi-Hi-Hyuga." She stammered out fearfully. Miss McLaughlin grinned.

"Okay Hinata, Sai, you two can go and sit back down." She said kindly. Sai and Hinata went back to their seats.

"I'm Sakura Haruno-Hatake." Sakura said confidently. She hoped it sounded confident.

"You can go and sit down too Sakura." Their teacher quipped. Sakura went and sat down. Now it was just Neji and Sasuke still standing there. Neither wanted to give up and both were too stubborn to submit to their teacher at any rate.

Everyone waited with baited breath until Miss McLaughlin sat down in her chair. Sasuke and Neji smirked to each other before they went to go back to their seats.

"Where do you two think you're going? You can go back to your seats once you've introduced yourselves. Unless of course you are completely mute which I doubt. If you don't want to introduce yourselves that's too bad, but this lesson is starting and the two of you make great statues. Not to mention all the fangirls in this class who are practically drooling in their seats." Miss McLaughlin said cheerfully. Then she looked at a random girl.

"Tayuya if you're going to drool, get a bucket. By the way you had better be paying attention. If you fail another test you're getting detention for two weeks, during lunch hour." The female stated. The red-haired girl she'd been speaking too looked away, with an embarrassed blush on her face and quickly looked into her work book.

"So are you two ready to introduce yourselves or would you like to stand there for the rest of the lesson?" Their teacher asked pointedly. Both boys glared making a silent agreement.

"I'm Neji Hyuga." Neji said blandly.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke added straight afterwards. Miss McLaughlin smiled kindly.

"There now that wasn't so bad was it? Neji, Sasuke you two can go and sit back down." Miss McLaughlin said cheerfully. Just before they got to their seats, Miss McLaughlin spoke again.

"By the way. You five should be aware that you are in my form group. It's usually held in here. Of course I accept that you were being registered with the school today, but tomorrow, the bell rings for registration at quarter to nine and I expect to see all five of you there on time. I'm sure Naruto will make sure that you're all here on time. Right Naruto?" Miss McLaughlin said sweetly. Naruto nodded fearfully.

"Good. Now on with the lesson." She quipped. In that moment, Sasuke and Neji started calling her the devil.

She stood up and took out a large cardboard box from under her desk.

"_Where the hell did that come from?"_ Sasuke thought to himself. Everyone was thinking the same thing. After all, the box looked too large to be able to fit under a desk.

"Okay class, it's a fresh start after your holiday and seeing as we studied 'Our Day Out' last half term, we'll be studying "Blood Brothers" for this half of the term. Both of these plays are very different. Can anyone explain why that is?" Their teacher asked. Sakura raised her hand before she even thought about it.

"Sakura?" Miss McLaughlin called out.

"One of the plays is about a school trip for a class of students from Liverpool, who've not got a lot of anything and have hard lives. The other one is about a pair of twins that are separated from birth and become friends even though they don't know they're brothers." Sakura replied.

"Very good Sakura. Now I'm going to pass round the books. I expect you to make sure to bring them with you to your lessons and to take care of them. You don't have to love this play. I don't expect you all to hero-worship Willy Russell after reading this. All I ask is that you take care of the books. Other students will be using them in the future and they need to be readable and undamaged." Miss McLaughlin told the class. The students all nodded and as their teacher passed the books around Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, Neji and Hinata were all wondering exactly what kind of teacher they were dealing with.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

At the end of the day, the group dragged themselves over to Kakashi's car, and Kakashi gave them all a cheerful grin (under his mask) as the six teens climbed into his car.

"So how was your first day?" Kakashi asked. The teens groaned in response, and Naruto just grinned in response.

"It was fine Uncle Kakashi. They just met the devil." Naruto quipped. Kakashi laughed loudly.

"Oh you're talking about your form tutor, Miss... Rika McLaughlin?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded.

"She's evil." Sasuke stated. Neji and Sai nodded in agreement.

"Don't be so overdramatic Sasuke. I've met the woman a few times when I've been with Naruto to a few of his parent's evenings. She's friendly enough. Just because she wants you to behave in her classroom, doesn't make her the devil." Kakashi stated.

"I still think she's the devil." Neji stated. Sasuke and Sai nodded in agreement.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay that's the end of this chapter. Next chapter will be longer and darker. I hope. Anywho, please R&R and let me know what you think. See y'all next time I update.


	8. Teacher

Okay, here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it, and thanks to everyone read and reviewed, and to anyone who added me to their faves and alert lists. I really appreciate it.

Just a small note for my dear readers. I've placed a poll on my profile page along with some summaries of fics that I'm working on in my spare time (when I'm not working on the ones that are already up) I would love your opinions everyone. Vote for the fic you most want to see up next. Thanks for your time everyone, and now on with the chapter.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Eight – Teacher.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

A few weeks had gone by and Sakura found herself settling into her new life rather well. She and Naruto had grown closer to Sasuke. Today was one of those days where it's cold but still nice. The trio found themselves sitting near the canal that was practically next door to their back garden.

"We really should finish that English assignment you know." Sakura said softly.

"We've still got a few days Sakura-Chan." Naruto quipped.

"Besides days like this don't come around all that much in England. Well... sometimes you get good summer days here I guess but I'm always away in the summer." Sasuke stated. His voice sounded almost sad.

"How comes you sound so sad about it?" Sakura asked.

"Because he goes to some posh resort with no one to talk to but his parents, his brothers and his sister. Oh and all the servants, right Sasuke?" Naruto replied. Sasuke gave Naruto a filthy look. It hadn't taken long for the pair to work out that Sasuke hadn't been raised like a regular lower class kid. He had everything he could possibly want. But Naruto and Sakura could tell that Sasuke was missing the idea of having a real family.

"Hey maybe your parents will let you stay home this year." Naruto added cheerfully when Sasuke didn't say anything.

"Maybe I can convince them to let me stay home for a summer camp." Sasuke replied.

"It's not even Christmas and you're thinking about summer camp?" Sakura asked.

"No. I won't go to a real summer camp. I'll just... sneak over here." Sasuke stated. The trio laughed at that plan. Despite the short time they'd known each other, they were now really close. Of course there were a few shadows hanging over their heads. Sasuke's shadow were his parents, who threatened to take him out of the school, because teachers actually paid attention to what he did, instead of just handing him an A. Naruto's shadow, was the worry that his parents were still working way too hard. Sakura had two shadows. Her mother and stepfather, and Orochimaru of course. She hadn't seen him since she'd been abducted and had escaped. However she was positive he was still out there looking for her. That and she just _knew_ he was probably fuming about her escape in the first place. She didn't know how close she was to the truth.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

That Monday, Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Kankuro and Gaara all looked very irritated. Ten Ten, Matsuri, Temari and Ino all had smirks on their faces. Sai, Neji, Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura had no idea what was going on.

"It's sports team tryouts today." Temari stated. Almost as if she read their minds.

"So why are they all so annoyed?" Sakura asked, gesturing to the boys.

"Because they have to try out. No choice. Every boy in the school has to try out for the teams. It takes forever. See all the school teams all start up competitions after Christmas. So because Christmas holidays start next week, they set the try outs for today." Temari replied.

"I didn't know about this." Sai stated. Sasuke and Neji both looked as though they wanted to say the same thing.

"Maybe if you read the letters Miss McLaughlin gave you in your tutor times, instead of screwing them up into balls and throwing them away, you would know. Right Hinata?" Temari stated. Hinata nodded and handed over her own letter to the three boys. The boys stared at the letter, and then stared at Hinata. Then they looked at Sakura.

"Why didn't you tell us?" They all asked.

"I didn't know." Sakura said honestly.

"You weren't here when Miss McLaughlin handed out the letters Sakura, you had that appointment." Hinata said softly. Sakura nodded as she remembered her dentist appointment. All the kids sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day, at around five in the evening, Sakura was waiting outside the sport's hall for Naruto. Sasuke, Sai, Naruto and Neji were all trying out for the football team along with several of the boys in the school, while Hinata was talking with Miss McLaughlin about something. That was when Sakura saw a familiar car pull up outside the school. Her stepfather stepped out and walked into the school. He walked over to her and she felt terror fill her as she looked around her and noticed that no one was there.

"Sakura you know your mother misses you?" Her stepfather said by way of greeting.

"Then maybe she shouldn't have allowed you to sell me like an object." Sakura replied.

"I'm sure you want to see her Sakura. She's not very well. She's been pining for you." Her stepfather trailed out. Sakura stared at her stepfather fearfully.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Sakura hissed angrily.

"You think anyone will be bothered by me taking you anywhere?" He replied.

"What's going on here?" Sakura felt relief swell in her chest at the sight of Hinata with Miss McLaughlin.

"I'm picking my stepdaughter up to see her mother." Sakura's stepfather said bluntly.

"Well I'm afraid you can't do that." Miss McLaughlin replied.

"You can't stop me taking my stepdaughter home." He replied angrily.

"Yes I can. You see I don't know who you are sir. But Sakura's father has already given a list of people to the office that Sakura can leave the school with and you're not on there. In fact as Sakura's form tutor I know that there is a court ordered restraining order preventing you or your wife from coming within one hundred feet of Sakura. So turn around and go home. Or do I have to call the police?" Miss McLaughlin questioned seriously. Her olive eyes alive with fiery temper.

"Yeah call the police and tell them you're trying to stop a little girl from seeing her own mother. We've already talked with her father and he's agreed to her seeing her mother." Sakura's stepfather stated smugly. Miss McLaughlin gave an almost evil smirk as she pulled out her mobile phone.

"Oh? Well in that case I'll be happy to let Sakura go with you. After I call her father and check with him that it's alright for her to go with you of course. It'd be rather remiss of me to just let Sakura wander off school grounds without getting confirmation from her legal guardian first." Miss McLaughlin replied. She opened the flip top phone and started to dial a number. Sakura watched her stepfather's face go red from anger as he stormed off.

"Are you alright Sakura?" Miss McLaughlin asked kindly. Sakura nodded.

"Come on. You two come and sit in my classroom until someone comes to pick you up. I know you're both waiting for your cousins to finish in the sport's hall." Miss McLaughlin said softly. Both Hinata and Sakura followed Miss McLaughlin into the school without a word. Sakura didn't even want to think of what would've happened to her if Miss McLaughlin hadn't shown up when she did.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all liked it. I'll try and update soon, but I have now officially started University so I might take a while with my updates, as my studies must come first. Please R&R and let me know what you think, and I will try and update as often as I can.


	9. Dangerous Sport

Okay here's chapter nine of Pets of The Underground. I hope you all enjoy it. I'm sorry I haven't updated for ages, but University has been a huge drain on my time and energy. Although I'm hoping it will be worth it in the long run.

Just a note for my readers. I have a poll in my profile so that you, my lovely readers, can vote for which fic I put up next. The titles and summaries are in my profile too. So please feel free to vote. At the moment there are two fics tying for first place. So please vote (or not) if you want to.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Nine – Dangerous Sport.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura was sat in the kitchen with Naruto, Yugito, Kyubi and Sasuke. How Sasuke happened to be there was not something anyone commented on. Sasuke had become part of the furniture since he'd made friends with Sakura and Naruto. How he got to their house was something Naruto and Sakura asked frequently. Especially when Obito or Itachi were unavailable. Sasuke just smirked and extolled the virtues of London Transport. This usually turned into a debate between the trio, about how Sasuke had hardly ever used it before knowing them, and he'd been lucky so far.

Today was a different sort of day. It was freezing cold, but it wasn't raining. This was the day that the group had decided they were going to go and get Christmas presents. Sasuke had asked, quite politely, if he could go with them. Kushina, being susceptible to polite teenagers, had agreed. Now they were eating breakfast and, for the first time that Naruto could remember, his mother wasn't in a rush.

"Mum, where are we going to shop?" Naruto asked.

"I thought I'd drive you to Camden Town. There is always something there." Kushina replied. Naruto grinned widely.

"Can we go to the Bento Box?" Naruto asked.

"Bento Box?" Sasuke and Sakura both asked.

"Yeah they sell all sorts of Japanese food, including Ramen." Naruto stated cheerfully. Sasuke, Sakura, Yugito and Kyubi rolled their eyes.

"Well we could do I suppose. But remember Naruto, you aren't the only one eating." Kushina replied, a grin spread across her face.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The group were in Kyubi's car, and headed towards Camden Lock.

"Kyu-Kun, how did you manage to afford this car?" Kushina asked.

"I did a lot of overtime when I got the chance Ma." Kyubi replied. His attention stayed on the road. Naruto couldn't help wondering how Kyubi managed it himself.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura and Sasuke were both awed by Camden. Sakura, because she'd never been able to come to Camden before, and was taking in everything she saw. Sasuke, because he never knew such a place existed. Everywhere they looked, there were Goths, Emos, Punks and Rockers. There were shops, painted vibrant bright colours, and Sakura couldn't help rolling her eyes every time she saw a picture of Prince William and Kate Middleton pinned up somewhere. After all, Prince William and Kate had become a new souvenir seller.

"Wow there's a new tattoo parlour, Kyubi. Are you gonna go and check it out?" Naruto asked. Sakura and Sasuke blinked curiously. Kyubi grinned, an evil glint in his eyes, and shook his head.

"There is no chance in hell I'm going in to a tattoo parlour called Eclipse." Kyubi replied.

"Why not?" Yugito piped up.

"Oh please. Can you say 'Twilight book three stereotype' Yugito? Anything to do with those gay ass sparkly vampires and that emo chick, is totally off my list." Kyubi stated firmly. Sasuke and Naruto smirked, while Yugito glared.

"I happen to like the Twilight films." Yugito quipped.

"So? You can like them. I can hate them. England is a free country." Kyubi replied.

"Woah, look it's Dark Angel. I'm totally going in there." Naruto said.

"Dark Angel?" Sakura asked. Sasuke looked like he wanted to ask the same question. Naruto pointed over the road to a store, the brickwork all painted black, with a giant cross hanging from the outside, and the silver words 'DARK ANGEL' hanging underneath.

"They sell some awesome clothes." Naruto quipped cheerfully. That was when the group ran in to Gaara, Temari and Kankuro.

"Hey Gaara! You been to Dark Angel yet?" Naruto asked. Gaara nodded stoically.

"They have some new stuff just in. But I'd go to the Spiral Direct stall first." Gaara added.

"You gonna come with?" Naruto asked. The three siblings shrugged and walked along. Kushina looked at Sakura and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright to be overwhelmed. When I first came to Camden it was downright scary. But now, what with Kyubi always wanting a new tattoo, or Naruto wanting to go to some Goth store or another. Or even Yugito and her obsession with Hello Kitty, it's become really familiar." Kushina said gently. Sakura grinned.

"Thanks Auntie Kushina." Sakura said softly.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

After looking at T-shirts of fallen angels, vampires, werewolves and strange looking trees with faces, and after a trek around the whole of the market and all the shops, Sakura and Naruto ended up back at home with Sasuke in tow. It was once they were at home that they got suspicious. Not that Naruto wasn't naturally suspicious of what was going on with his older brother at the moment, but it was strange when Kyubi said he was going out, and went for a shower. Naruto and Sakura gestured to Sasuke to follow them, and they headed in to Naruto's room.

"Isn't this the third night this week that Kyu's gone out without actually saying where he's going?" Sakura asked Naruto. Naruto nodded.

"What's so weird about that? Itachi goes out without telling us where he's going all the time." Sasuke asked.

"Well with us it's different. Your family runs a worldwide corporation right? So some things you don't really need to know about. But with us, we don't really have anything to keep secret." Naruto replied.

"So when Kyu doesn't tell us what he's actually up to. Especially when he goes off without his car and comes back at whatever time in the morning and we don't see him until late afternoon sometimes. Well, we start to worry." Sakura added.

"So why not wait up for him and see what he's like when he gets home? That's what I'd do." Sasuke quipped. Naruto and Sakura grinned.

"I knew we were friends with you for a reason." Naruto stated.

"Thanks Naruto. Really." Sasuke quipped sarcastically. Sakura just smirked.

"So, are you allowed to stay with us tonight?" Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded.

"My parents are away for the next week. Itachi said it's cool if I stay at your house. I'll just text him." Sasuke replied. The group then pondered what might be happening with Kyubi while they made their plans.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

It was coming up five in the morning, when Sakura heard a key turn in the lock. She nudged at Naruto and Sasuke, who had both dozed off. They shot awake and stood up immediately. The trio left Sakura's room and headed downstairs, where they were met with a shocking sight.

Kankuro and a blond teen sat Kyubi down on one of the kitchen chairs, and Sakura gasped when she saw the state her cousin was in. Sasuke and Naruto had both gone rigid either side of her. Kyubi was in a mess. He had a split lip, black eye, and blood was gushing from his nose.

"Oh my god! What the hell happened to him Deidara?" Naruto asked. He was still trying to keep it down. Sakura assumed this was their cousin Deidara that Naruto had told her about. She hadn't as yet met him as she had Ino.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies un!" Deidara stated.

"Keep it down or my Mum and Dad, and Uncle Kakashi are gonna wake up and ask the same damn questions." Naruto hissed.

"Kankuro, what happened?" Sakura asked Kankuro.

"Look, he got into a fight. It's no big deal. He'll be alright as soon as we fix him up a bit." Kankuro said. Naruto stared at Kyubi's side.

"Why the fuck is he bleeding Kankuro? If you guys don't spit it out now, I swear to god I'm calling Mum, and she'll kick both your asses." Naruto stated.

"You'd tattle on us un?" Deidara asked, seemingly mortified.

"If I have to, I'd totally go that far." Naruto stated. The two teens sighed and looked at Kyubi, who seemed to be quite out of it.

"We need to look after him first. We can answer your questions later." Kankuro said.

"Oh shit un!" Deidara exclaimed as he lifted up Kyubi's t-shirt. Sakura felt sick as she saw a deep wound in Kyubi's side.

"You were saying?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Okay, I get it. Go and get Uncle Minato and Uncle Kakashi. I think we're gonna need to get him to a hospital un." Deidara replied. Naruto ran up the stairs, as Sakura and Sasuke stared on. They had no idea what to do. Within moments, her father and Uncle Minato were speeding down the stairs. Aunt Kushina was close behind them.

"Oh my god! What the hell happened to my baby?" Kushina yelled.

"It's a long story Auntie Kushina un." Deidara replied. Minato knelt next to Kyubi and looked at the wound.

"We need to take him to hospital. That's where he should've been in the first place. Who the hell did this to him Deidara?" Minato asked.

"I don't know Uncle Minato un!" Deidara exclaimed.

"Really, he got us to pick him up and he was a mess when we got there." Kankuro quickly followed. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura could tell they were lying, but Kakashi, Kushina and Minato just sped to open up Kakashi's car and get Kyubi in to it.

"Dad I want to go with you!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, just... just stay here. All of you." Minato stated pointedly. Aiming his words more at Deidara and Kankuro. Then they were off. The trio of younger teens were all scared. Even though none of them would admit it.

"Come on un. Kyubi will be alright." Deidara said softly.

"Yeah he will, and you guys are gonna tell us what the hell is going on!" Naruto yelled at them. Deidara and Kankuro both flinched. Sakura and Sasuke stood either side of Naruto, waiting for an answer.

"Look, your brother will kill us if we tell you what he was up to." Kankuro stated.

"I'll kill you both if you don't tell us. So pick the lesser of two evils." Naruto stated.

"You ain't gonna kill us, un!" Deidara stated.

"Don't bet on it Deidara." Naruto stated. As much as he loved his cousin, he was scared for his brother and that outweighed anything else. Deidara sighed.

"Your brother was getting involved in underground fighting rings for cash." Kankuro stated.

"What!" Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all came out with the same word at the same moment.

"Well you know your brother is a hard ass. He enjoys a good fight at any rate. You know he does. He thought he'd just channel it in to some cash. Today he bit off more than he could chew un." Deidara elaborated. The trio didn't look happy. Deidara sighed again.

"Look, un, he made his choice by himself. We didn't tell him about this stuff. He told us." Deidara added.

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" Naruto asked.

"It's a good question." Sasuke added.

"Have you seen Kyubi once he makes up his mind? There isn't any stopping him." Kankuro stated.

"Although we did try un." Deidara added.

"The question is, what the hell do we do about it now?" Sakura stated. None of the occupants of the room could answer that question.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay, just for reference. There really is a store called Dark Angel in Camden Town, and if you haven't noticed it, you're obviously blind, because it's an obvious enough place to spot, and I'm almost blind, so that should say everything. Also the Bento Box Cafe, and the Spiral Direct stall really do exist. For all you English readers, look up spiral direct online for all the awesome weird clothes.

As for my quip against the Eclipse Tattoo parlour (which does exist) I don't know what the place is like, I've never been in there, but like Kyubi, I don't wish to be associated with Twilight unless I'm mocking it. Sorry to all your Twitards (or Twilighters, whatever floats your boats) but I'm NOT a fan of Twilight. I'm not a fan of Stephanie Meyer. In fact I hate her work with a passion. However, I've unfortunately had to go and see the movies, because my cousin loves bloody Twilight. Although the films are better than the books. Amazingly, this rather scares me.

Anywho, I apologise for my rant there. Please R&R and tell me what you think. I'm always glad to hear what you have to say. Unless of course it's some crap about how I shouldn't diss Twilight. Then I don't care. LOL! I hope you all enjoyed that chappie and I'll update as soon as I can.


	10. Information

Please vote on my poll, because at the moment, Team Cat-Kashi and Sasuke-Aniki are in the lead and I would prefer there not to be a tie. LOL! Anywho, I will let people know the results in my poll after I've posted the last chapter of Woah Baby! Which I will be finishing next time I update. After that I will place a new poll up, obviously not putting the winning fic in, and there will be another chance to vote. Of course I'll place the fics in order of when they're going to come out and such, but I'll be putting new ones in a poll. Okay? Well anywho... that was lengthy and I hope you all kept up with that. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and added me to their faves and alerts lists. I really appreciate it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Ten – Information.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all thought they would never fall asleep, but once Deidara and Kankuro convinced them to actually just go to their beds and lay down, they found that they just went out like lights. They were too exhausted to stay awake. Sasuke slept on a futon in Naruto's room. Deidara and Kankuro both went and slept in Kyubi's room. The group managed to sleep and did so late into the afternoon. However, when Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke woke up, Naruto looked at the phone for messages, but he didn't find anything.

"They don't know what's happening yet or they would've called us." Naruto said sadly. He looked extremely upset.

"They'll let us know Naruto. They're not going to leave us in the dark any longer then they have to." Sakura consoled. Naruto nodded. The trio got dressed and just sat on the sofa, waiting for whatever news was going to come to them. Deidara and Kankuro came downstairs, not too long after the trio had settled.

"Any news un?" Deidara asked. They shook their heads. Kankuro licked at his lips nervously.

"It'll be alright Naruto. Your brother is tough. He's tougher then we are. I'm sure your Mum and Dad will let us know what's going on, as soon as they know anything." Kankuro assured. Naruto just nodded numbly. That was when Yugito walked into the house.

"Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry I was out late but our designated driver got totally sloshed and I stayed with Temari, because we were nearer her house and we walked!" Yugito yelled. She ran upstairs without looking into the front room. They heard her door open and they heard her kick off her shoes, and chuck her handbag onto her bed. They heard the rattle of her house keys as they were dropped onto a surface and then Yugito seemed to stop.

"Hello?" She called out. Then she came back down the stairs. The group heard the familiar pad of her slippers. She looked into the front room and saw everyone sitting around.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Yugito asked.

"Where's Mum and Dad and Uncle Kakashi? Hell, why do you all look like someone died?" Yugito asked irritably.

"Mum and Dad, and Uncle Kakashi had to take Kyubi to hospital." Naruto replied gently. Yugito's eyes went wide.

"What?" She asked.

"He was stabbed last night, and these two idiots bought him here. We realised what was wrong with him, but Dad couldn't even patch him up here and they all took him to the hospital. We were all told to stay here." Naruto answered. Yugito's face went completely blank. Then she stared at Deidara and Kankuro, and then her eyes went very dark.

"What the hell happened?" Yugito yelled. Deidara and Kankuro made to open their mouths but Yugitio quickly silenced them.

"Don't even bother telling me you don't know you idiots! I know you two were going out with Kyubi last night so spit it out!" Yugito yelled again.

"We went to the Depths okay?" Kankuro yelled back.

"You idiots! I told you lot not to go! I told you loads of times that that place is like a fucking cemetery! How long?" Yugito screamed at them.

"How long what?" Kankuro yelled back.

"How long have you been fucking going to the Depths?" Yugito shouted angrily.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stayed silent. They wanted to know the answers to these questions themselves.

"Six months... maybe nine for Kyubi un." Deidara answered. Yugito was shaking with anger. She launched at Deidara and started beating her fists on him.

"Jesus! Yugito! Get the fuck off, un! It was Kyubi's damn decision un!" Deidara yelled. Kankuro jumped up and tried to pull Yugito off, but she started hitting him then.

"Shit! Can you guys help me for fucks sake?" Kankuro yelled at Naruto and Sakura, mainly. Naruto sighed.

"Sis this isn't going to help!" Naruto yelled. Yugito seemed to slow down, and after a minute she stopped hitting Kankuro, who let her go and she slumped into an armchair, where she promptly burst into tears. Naruto stood up and went over to Yugito and sat on the arm of the chair next to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and carried on crying, and Naruto hugged her back.

"Kyu's gonna be alright 'gito. He's gonna be fine. He's so strong. He's not gonna die on us." Naruto told Yugito calmly. It was more to reassure himself than his sister.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Deidara and Yugito decided to go to the supermarket later on that afternoon. They still hadn't heard anything. Kankuro and Deidara had both called home in this time and told their parents a gentler version of what had happened and explained where they were. At this moment, Kankuro was sitting in the house, waiting for any news. Once the group had been in the supermarket and gotten some things they needed, they went to walk back to the house, and that was when Sakura saw him. Suigetsu was walking along the street quickly and heading towards the DLR train station.

"Guys, wait. I know him." Sakura said to them as she ran after Suigetsu. The others followed her, as she sprinted to catch up with Suigetsu.

"Suigetsu wait up!" Sakura called to him. He turned and when he saw Sakura, he gave her a wide, toothy grin. He waited for her to catch up to him, before he spoke.

"Hey Sakura. How are things going?" Suigetsu asked.

"I live with my Dad now. How are you?" Sakura asked.

"I'm okay. So is Juugo. Kimmimaru isn't so hot. He's got hurt, but you know Orochimaru isn't the type to take any of the kids he owns to a hospital. I was bringing him up here in the van, but the guy I know can't do anything to help him. Kimmimaru needs a hospital, but if I take him to one, Orochimaru'll find him, and me and Juugo and finish us off." Suigetsu told Sakura sadly.

"What's wrong with Kimmimaru?" Sakura asked. The others didn't ask any questions, they just listened to the conversation.

"I don't know if you know this, but Orochimaru doesn't just buy girls. He buys boys too. Snatches them from the streets and all. He snatched Kimmimaru from the streets when he was just a little kid. He put him to work in his own little project. People have a lot of names for it. The most known name is the Depths. It's-" Suigetsu was cut off then.

"It's an underground fighting ring for cash. Tell me this kid you're talking about. Kimmimaru right? Tell me this kid was fighting a guy with red hair and a tattoo of a red fox on his left shoulder." Yugito quipped. Suigetsu blinked.

"Nope. I did see a guy there who looked like that. He got knifed by twice in the side by Kabuto. Kabuto is a fucking bastard. Orochimaru only lets him fight when he really doesn't like the one who's winning. The guy you're talking about? Kitsune? That's his code name or something. He wins. He wins every time he even gets into the ring. Orochimaru kitted Kabuto up before that little shit stepped in the ring with Kitsune." Suigetsu stated. Sakura trembled in fear. The idea of Kabuto bought back bad memories. Being sold to Orochimaru and escaping, with Kabuto chasing her down, were frightening thoughts.

"It was Kabuto who tried to chase me down." Sakura whispered. Sasuke was confused.

"You know these people Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll explain later okay? Or Naruto can explain it to you now Sasuke. Right now, Suigetsu, where is Kimmimaru?" Sakura asked.

"In the back of the van. He's been messed up pretty bad Sakura. You don't really want to see it." Suigetsu told the girl kindly. Sakura shook her head.

"If it wasn't for Kimmimaru I never would've escaped. He bought me to you guys and you got me the hell outta there. If it wasn't for him, Kabuto would've caught up to me. I'm not gonna leave him to die in a van. Even if I have to drive him the hospital myself." Sakura told Suigetsu firmly. Suigetsu nodded and started leading the group to his van. Juugo was not in the driver's seat like he normally was. Suigetsu opened the back doors, and Juugo was sat in the back, trying to stem the flow of blood coming from Kimmimaru's wounds.

"Oh my god!" Sakura exclaimed. Yugito gasped and Deidara looked at the boy in horror.

"I saw him get into the ring with the fucker that Kyu was fighting last night. He was after Kyu though un." Deidara said firmly.

"Orochimaru found out he helped you escape. Putting anyone in the ring with Kabuto is a punishment." Suigetsu said sadly.

"Why is that fucker supposed to be so good un? Kyu got in plenty of hits but that fucker stabbed him un!" Deidara asked.

"Kabuto is always loaded down with surgical scalpels when he gets into the ring. Those things cut in deep and slice your organs too. They ain't supposed to be weapons. They're supposed to be to help people, but Kabuto is Orochimaru's favourite because he's a sadistic little bastard." Suigetsu replied.

Sakura looked at Deidara.

"You drive right Deidara?" Sakura asked.

"Don't think it Sakura. We're going to take him to a hospital. But you... you need to ask your Dad if he can get us help. You were lucky. An Uchiha represented you guys in court. We heard all about it from Mizuki, Orochimaru's lawyer. But if we lose Kimmimaru, or if we help him, we're fucked Sakura. Orochimaru will hunt us down and finish us off." Suigetsu told Sakura seriously. Sakura looked at Sasuke.

"I'll call my brother on the way to the hospital. We all need to go. If we don't someone is going to come to your house looking for us." Sasuke told Sakura. Sakura nodded.

"How many of us can fit in the van?" Sakura asked.

"I'll drive. Two people can sit up front and two in the back with Kimmimaru and Juugo, but it'll be a rough ride." Suigetsu replied.

"Deidara who drove you guys to our house?" Naruto asked.

"Kankuro did." Deidara replied.

"Yugito, go and get Kankuro to drive you to the hospital. Deidara you and Sasuke or you and Naruto get in the front and I'll get in the back with one of you." Sakura said.

"I'll get in the back with Sakura. I need to call Itachi, and Naruto is a little taller than me. It's better for the two biggest to sit in the front really." Sasuke stated. Sakura nodded. Naruto and Deidara gave agreeing looks and everyone set off. Yugito ran off with their shopping towards the house, to get Kankuro, and soon, they were driving.

Sasuke grabbed his mobile out of his pocket and dialled Itachi's number from memory. Itachi answered after the phone rang twice. Sasuke put the phone on speaker.

"Hello little brother." Itachi answered in monotone.

"I need you to come to the hospital. Kakashi's there with Kyubi. Naruto, Sakura and I are getting someone else there. But these guys need help." Sasuke shot out.

"What guys?" Itachi asked.

"They're gonna get killed off by Orochimaru. Whoever that is." Sasuke replied.

"I'll meet you there. Obito already went to meet Kakashi, so I know what hospital. Make sure to not open your mouth. None of you. If the cops are there before me, which I doubt, then these guys need to just say it was a random attack. I'll call Obito to let him know the situation. Is there anything that needs to be added?" Itachi asked.

"Tell Obito and my Dad that these guys helped me to escape from Orochimaru." Sakura told Itachi plainly.

"Understood." Itachi quipped. Then he was gone. The dial tone was all that was left behind.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it and such. Please R&R and let me know what you thought. Okay? See ya next update.


	11. Pure Morning

Okay, here is the next chappie for Pets of The Underground. There is also another poll on my profile now, because the old one has been closed. The order in which the fics on the first poll will come out, has been placed in my profile. So please feel free to vote on my new poll (which will basically be set out the same as the old poll)

So yeah, I hope you all enjoy this chappie.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets Of The Underground.

Chapter Eleven – Pure Morning.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

When Suigetsu sped the van into the hospital car park, Naruto and Deidara jumped out and ran towards the building while Suigetsu parked the van expertly into the only parking space he could find. Sakura and Sasuke opened the back door, while Juugo gently picked up Kimmimaru. Naruto and Deidara came running back with a couple of paramedics, pushing a trolley along. Juugo laid Kimmimaru down on the trolley and they saw the paramedics take off, already working to save Kimmimaru's life.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi pulled into the hospital car park to see Paramedics wheeling away a boy with silver hair. Then he saw Mizuki. A trashy lawyer that Itachi knew worked for Orochimaru. Itachi parked quickly and got out of his car, before the man could reach his brother and the other teens standing there.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She calmed down when she saw that it was Sasuke's brother, and that he also had a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He pushed them behind him gently and soon Sakura saw the reason why. She recognised the other man that came towards them as the lawyer who had represented her parents at the custody hearing.

"Mizuki. What are you doing here?" Itachi asked bluntly.

"I'm acting in the best interests of my employer Itachi. You should know that by now." Mizuki replied. Obito arrived outside then.

"Mizuki-San, I don't believe you have any reason to be nosing around my cousin, or my friend's daughter and Nephews." Obito quipped.

"Uchiha-San, those two boys there are the responsibility of my employer." Mizuki stated.

"Actually, Mizuki-San, these boys have no guardians or relatives. Would you perjure yourself to say otherwise in court?" Obito stated. Mizuki glared sourly and then stalked off. As he got into his car he looked at Obito.

"I hope you realise what you're doing Uchiha. You surely know who you're dealing with, right?" Mizuki stated. Obito sent a hard look Mizuki's way.

"I know _exactly_ who I'm dealing with Mizuki. Have you and your _employer_ forgotten who _you're_ dealing with?" Obito questioned icily. Mizuki glared.

"This isn't over Uchiha." Mizuki said acidly. Then he slammed his car door and was gone within moments.

xXxXxXx TWO HOURS LATER xXxXxXx

Yugito, Kankuro, Deidara, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto all waited in the corridor, while Suigetsu and Juugo were checked over, and Kimmimaru was seen to. That was when Naruto and Yugito's parents came down the corridor with Kakashi.

"Ma, how's Kyu?" Yugito asked.

"Please Ma, Dad? Is Kyubi okay?" Naruto added.

"He will be okay. It'll take a while, but he will be okay." Minato replied. Yugito and Naruto hugged each other tightly and Yugito wept tears of joy at the news.

xXxXxXx THREE WEEKS LATER xXxXxXx

Naruto and Sakura were finally going to school by themselves. Not exactly by themselves though. They were to get on the DLR, meet up with the rest of their friends, and travel to school in a group. As Sakura and Naruto made to walk out of the door, dragging Suigetsu and Juugo with them, they saw a car pull up, and Sasuke, Neji, Sai, Hinata and another boy got out of the car. Naruto and Sakura stared. They had never seen this boy before.

"This is my brother Haku." Sai stated.

"He'll be in the year below us." Sasuke added stoically.

"What are you guys doing here so early?" Naruto asked.

"I've decided that the more of you travelling together, the more protection for all of you. So Sasuke, Sai, Neji, Hinata and Haku, will be joining you on your trip to school. It'll be the first time they've ever gone on public transport." Itachi said, out of the window.

"We'll look after them." Naruto replied cheerfully. Itachi nodded. That was when Yugito came out of the house.

"You guys are so loud. You're lucky I had to get up early today." Yugito quipped irritably. That was when the group took notice of Temari riding down on her bike. Gaara walked behind her a few minutes later at his own pace.

"Hey Temari. Hey Gaara!" Naruto called out to the red head. Gaara lifted a hand and waved it slightly before just walking down to them. Yugito also had her own bike.

"Do you guys ride to college?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Mostly, but we still have to take the DLR right down into London before we get to use our bikes. It'd take us hours to ride all the way to Saint Anne's College." Temari replied.

"You guys are lucky. You've only got to take a couple of stops on the DLR to get to school, and Kyubi just takes the DLR to Cutty Sark to get to Greenwich Uni. I mean before it was a pain for him, but now we live in South Quays, it's only a few stops." Yugito stated. Naruto nodded as Gaara caught up to them.

"Is Kyubi gonna be able to go back to Uni yet?" Temari asked Yugito. Yugito shook her head.

"He's still got to recover. He hasn't healed internally yet. Once he's okay he'll be allowed to run around." Yugito replied.

"That must really piss him off. He hates missing his classes. He loves working with the computers and he loves his English Literature class." Temari quipped. Naruto went wide eyed, along with Sasuke and Sakura.

"Kyubi. Takes. English. Literature?" Naruto asked. Temari blinked and Yugito slapped her forehead in exasperation.

"Kyubi does have a sensitive side Naruto. He's not just all macho you know." Yugito snapped. Naruto still seemed confused.

"Okay let's go and get Shikamaru." Gaara said blankly. The others nodded.

"See ya later sis! See ya Temari!" Naruto called, as the two college students rode their bikes towards the direction of the DLR station. There were lopsided waves as Temari and Yugito balanced on their bikes, and were then gone round the corner.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

When the group got to Shikamaru's house, everyone heard the yells of his mother.

"Shikamaru Nara! Get out of bed! You're going to be late for school again! Do you want detention with Miss McLaughlin?" The group covered their ears at the sound of Mrs Nara screaming at her son. Naruto and Gaara were not affected by the yelling however. Naruto knocked on the door politely and the group heard the window to Shikamaru's bedroom open above them. A dark haired woman stuck her head out of the window, glaring furiously.

"Good morning Mrs Nara. How are you today?" Naruto asked politely.

"I'm very well, thank you Naruto. Shikamaru will be down in a minute." Mrs Nara said softly. Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Sai, Hinata, Haku, Suigetsu and Juugo, stared at the complete change in mood, with wide eyes. Then the window slammed shut and they heard the yells begin again.

"I swear to God Shikamaru I'm going to call Temari and get her to get you out of bed! I don't care if you're in your boxers!" The woman yelled.

"Troublesome! I'll give you troublesome! You're way too much like your father!" They heard the continued yelling a minute later. Then they heard a thump and muffled yells from Shikamaru.

"She must be dragging him to the bathroom for his morning cold shower." Gaara quipped. Naruto nodded.

"Yeap, that sounds about right. Any second now we'll hear it." Naruto shot back.

"Hear what?" Sakura asked.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! TROUBLESOME WOMAN! GET THE COLD SHOWER AWAY FROM ME!"

The group stared. Naruto and Gaara just snickered to themselves.

"That is the most emotion Shikamaru ever shows, ever." Naruto stated. Gaara had a wide smirk across his face. Not five minutes later, Shikamaru was shoved out of the front door and he turned around just in time to catch his school bag in his arms.

"And don't even think you can come home for lunch so you can snooze. Try doing your homework for a change." Mrs Nara stated, as she stood at the front door. She wasn't very big, or very muscular, but she was extremely intimidating.

"But Ma, homework is too tr-" Before Shikamaru could finish his sentence his mother launched a tirade upon him once again.

"Don't tell me it's too troublesome! I don't damn well care! If your teachers call me to tell me you didn't do your homework again, I swear I will send you to work on the building site with your uncle, every afternoon and weekend for the next month!" Mrs Nara yelled. Then she went inside and slammed the door. Shikamaru pouted irritably. Suddenly the door opened again.

"I'm sorry Naruto dear. Oh and you too Gaara sweetie. You're both so good making sure to come and pick up Shikamaru in the mornings. I really appreciate it." Mrs Nara said kindly.

"It's a pleasure Mrs Nara." Gaara replied gently.

"We'll see you tomorrow Mrs Nara." Naruto added.

"Thanks again boys. You'll have to introduce me to your other friends here when you're not going to be late for school. See you tomorrow." Mrs Nara said cheerfully, before she closed the door again.

"Does your mother have a split personality disorder?" Sakura asked.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru replied.

"That doesn't answer her question Shikamaru." The group looked at Ino, who walked with Chouji and Kiba, towards them.

"His problem is lack of motivation. His mother's problem is his lack of motivation." Kiba stated.

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked.

"It means that because Shikamaru isn't motivated, his mother yells at him until he is. The trouble is that she spends most of her time yelling at Shikamaru because Shikamaru is never motivated." Naruto answered. Sakura didn't comment on that.

"Shino and Lee are meeting us at the station, and Ten Ten will be here in a minute." Ino stated. Sakura grinned.

"So we're all walking to school together then?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. Lee and Shino have to get on the train at the next stop though. Otherwise they'd never make it to school. We need to sit at the front of the DLR so that we can wave them on." Kiba replied. Not a minute later, Ten Ten arrived and the group were on the way to the DLR station to go to school together. They all hoped there wouldn't be any unexpected surprises on route today.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay, that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please R&R and let me know what you think. See you when I update next chapter.


	12. Unfinished

Okay all, here is the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and added me to their faves and alerts lists. I really appreciate it. I will try and update as often as possible, but sometimes it's difficult because I spend a lot of my time studying for University, so I hope that everyone can enjoy my updates when they come.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground

Chapter Twelve – Unfinished

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

As the group sat on the DLR, Sasuke, Sai, Hinata, Haku and Neji all stared out of the window.

"It's weird isn't it?" Sakura questioned.

"It's almost like a closed-top, slower rollercoaster." Hinata said to Sakura. Sakura grinned.

"Yeah it is isn't it. I mean it's slow, but sometimes you can't even see the tracks underneath you, and you can see for miles when you look out of the window. I think it's the closest thing England has to the Japanese bullet trains." Sakura replied.

"I've heard that they're actually making a sort of bullet train here in London." Naruto said. Sasuke nodded his agreement.

"I don't know if they'd call it that, but they're creating a train that speeds between London and Leeds within half an hour." Sasuke replied.

"Really?" Kiba asked.

"Yes. They hope to have it ready for the twenty-twelve Olympics." Neji replied. Everyone nodded.

"They're changing a lot around London for the Olympics. Every damn underground station now has to be remodelled to look like the underground symbol." Ten Ten said irritably.

"Great. I mean most people would call it animal cruelty if you take your dog on the underground, because of how hot it is, but instead of putting in air conditioning so that people can travel more comfortably, the government is wasting money remodelling perfectly good stations into pretty shapes." Ino shot out. The others didn't know how to answer that. After all, money was getting tighter, taxes were getting higher and prices for everything kept climbing. That was life for most people in England.

xXxXxXx ONE WEEK LATER xXxXxXx

Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Ten Ten were watching as Sasuke, Neji, Chouji, Naruto, Sai, Kiba, Shino, Gaara, Lee, Suigetsu and Juugo were warming up to start for the school football team.

"I thought football was when you wore all that padded equipment and ran into each other with a funny shaped ball." Hinata stated.

"That's American football. The English have something similar, called rugby. This is what Americans call soccer. But we call it football." Ino explained. Hinata nodded as the group of girls were watching from the stands in the school's Astroturf field. Shikamaru lazily sloped up the stairs and sat next to Sakura. Temari and Yugito followed him, along with Kankuro and Kyubi, who was using crutches to keep himself from over exerting himself.

"Kyubi what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be resting?" Sakura asked.

"I couldn't miss watching my little brother play football against Milford Secondary. They're supposed to be good. But I'm sure our new team can handle it." Kyubi stated. Deidara arrived a few minutes later.

"Where were you?" Ino asked.

"I had to park the car." Deidara replied. Soon the match started and the crowd of students and friends and relatives were watching in fascination as the game got more and more interesting.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Someone crept through the boy's locker room and headed over to one of the lockers. A hand used something to pick the lock, and placed something inside, before attaching some wire to the inside of the locker door. Before the door closed, there was a glimpse of an orange hooded jumper and a pair of orange converse. The door was closed and locked and the figure crept out of the locker room, as quickly as they had arrived, leaving no trace behind them.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

At half time, Ino went to grab some drinks for her friends. A boy with hair tied in a grey ponytail approached her. He gave a warm smile and Ino smiled back.

"I saw you with Kyubi Uzumaki in the stands. Is he a friend of yours?" The boy asked.

"He's my cousin. Who's asking?" Ino asked, not liking where this conversation was heading.

"Well I knew him at school, but since then we kind of drifted apart. I came to watch one of my cousins play. He's at Milford." The boy told Ino.

"Oh. You want me to tell him to meet you?" Ino asked.

"Oh no. I just thought you could give him my contact details after the match. His brother is playing too, I saw. He's a good player." The boy said to Ino. Ino nodded.

"Yeah, Naruto loves to play football. This is the first school match of the year." Ino replied. The boy nodded, and then he rooted around in his pocket and handed over a scrap of paper. Ino stuck it in her pocket and gave the boy a smile.

"What's your name?" The boy asked.

"I'm Ino. Ino Yamanaka." Ino introduced as she stuck out a hand. The boy shook her hand.

"I'm Shin." The boy replied. Then he turned and walked off. Ino went back to watch the game, and didn't really think about the note.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The match ended with their school team winning. Naruto and Sasuke were a winning combination on the field, and with Chouji in goal and Neji and Kiba defending, their team was the one to beat. It wasn't until the team had left the field for a few minutes and the group made their way down from the bleachers and were waiting in the car park for their friends that Ino remembered the note in her pocket. She pulled it out and handed it over to Kyubi.

"Some guy you used to go to school with asked me to give this to you. Said something about you guys losing touch. He said it was his contact details." Ino said. Kyubi opened the note and his eyes went wide.

"Ino, what else did this guy say to you? Tell me!" Kyubi yelled. Ino looked shaken up. She wasn't used to Kyubi yelling at her.

"He... he said his brother was on the Milford team and he recognised Naruto as your brother and he said he was a good player. He asked me my name and I told him and he said his name was Shin. Then he walked off." Ino replied.

"What did he look like? Ino what the hell did he look like?" Kyubi asked.

"He had grey hair tied into a ponytail. He wasn't very tall but he wasn't short either. I think he had a pair of glasses in his shirt pocket. I don't know. What's wrong Kyubi?" Ino asked. Before Kyubi could ask anything else, they heard a loud bang.

"Oh my God! What the hell was that?" Temari yelled. The fire alarms in the school went off and everyone had a horrible feeling. Kyubi ran, well as fast as he could with his crutches, and Sakura and Ino stood next to each other. Sakura shakily picked up the piece of paper that Kyubi had abandoned in his rush.

"What does it say?" Ino asked.

"It says 'Be careful who you mess with. It's not just you we come after.' what the hell does that mean?" Sakura said out loud. She was shaking as she saw a fire truck racing to their school. "What the hell does any of this mean?" Sakura whispered. Ino was trembling and hugging Sakura, not knowing what else to do as the firemen jumped down from their truck and raced into the school.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The group walked into the locker room and Naruto walked over to his locker while the others headed towards their own lockers. Sasuke's was next to Naruto's, and Naruto's locker was on the end before the door. Naruto stuck his key in the lock and as he turned it, he turned to look at Sasuke.

"That was a great match! I hope we get to play in the finals!" Naruto exclaimed. Instinctively his arm opened the door. There was a horrifying bang then. Naruto wasn't sure if he was deaf or just numb as he was blown backwards. Then he realised his arm was burnt. Everywhere hurt. He was starting to shut down from shock. Sasuke was a couple of inches away from him, but Sasuke didn't look as bad as Naruto felt. The two were lying in a heap.

"Wow I think my converse shoes are ruined." Naruto whispered.

"Idiot." Sasuke shot back. They fell into unconsciousness.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, this is a bit shorter then I meant it to be. But I wanted to update and I've taken ages to do that already. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter anyways, and please R&R and let me know what you think. Also, please take a look at my new poll readers. I would really appreciate it. See you all next update, which will hopefully be soon.


	13. Sibling Protector

Okay all, here's the next chapter of Pet's of The Underground.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pet's Of The Underground

Chapter Thirteen – Sibling Protector.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura and Ino ran round to the front of the school, along with the rest of the group. Gaara, Shino, Neji, Sai, Suigetsu, Juugo and Chouji were all sat on the pavement out the front, coughing.

"What happened?" Sakura asked. Suigetsu looked at Sakura carefully.

"A bomb. Someone planted a bomb in Naruto's locker. It just... it blew up. We couldn't even see where we were going. Sasuke and Naruto got hurt. We don't know what's going on now. If we could walk we got sent out." Suigetsu replied.

"Where're Lee and Kiba?" Ino asked. Hinata nodded her agreement.

"They got hurt in the explosion. But they're not as bad as Naruto and Sasuke. They got the worst of it. If they're lucky, Sasuke's locker door protected them from some of the blast." Suigetsu replied. Sakura looked over to see that there were two ambulances waiting outside. Some paramedics were cleaning up Kiba and Lee, who were both shirtless, and covered in bruises. Kiba had some nasty looking scars on his cheeks that looked like red triangles. The paramedics were using a solution to wash out his eyes. Lee had a cut across his back that another paramedic was treating. That was when Sakura saw a stretcher being wheeled out. Sasuke was on top of it. He looked bruised and burned, but apart from that he seemed to be sleeping. A second stretcher came out with Naruto on it. Naruto looked far worse. One arm was wrapped in gauze and there was a catheter in Naruto's uninjured arm. One of the paramedics held a bag of fluid up, that was attached to the catheter.

"Oh my god." Sakura whispered. Kyubi was stood to the side he looked like he was fuming. He looked like he was ready to kill someone. Sakura could practically feel his anger. She couldn't help feeling angry herself. Someone had tried to kill Naruto. She had every right to be angry about it. She watched the ambulances slam closed, taking Naruto, Sasuke, Lee and Kiba to the hospital. Another ambulance was on its way to bring the other team members to the hospital to check them over. All the boys were in shock. Gaara looked at Temari.

"I'll be okay Temari." He said softly. Temari sat next to Gaara and dropped her hoodie over his shoulders. He was still in the school team's uniform, and he was shaking. All the boys seemed shell-shocked. Everything happened so fast. Everyone was rushing to the hospital, parents were contacted, treatments were carried out. Gaara, Suigetsu, Juugo, Chouji, Neji, Sai and Shino were all relatively fine, just suffering from shock. Lee and Kiba were both released from the hospital after having their minor injuries treated. Sasuke was singed but fine otherwise. The blast had thrown him, given him a concussion, but he was very lucky. As Suigetsu had predicted, Sasuke's locker door, and Naruto, had protected him from the worst of the blast. Naruto was in the worst condition. It was pure luck that he'd turned and stuck his head round Sasuke's locker door as he opened his own. If he had opened his door face forward he would have been killed. There was no doubt about that. As it was, Naruto's ribs were broken, he had a skull fracture and various contusions and burns all over his body. His right arm was the worst. He needed to have a skin graft, and they had to take him in to theatre for it, but he would recover.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi and Kakashi were staring Kyubi down while all of this was going on.

"Kyubi if you know something you need to spit it out now." Itachi told him firmly. Kyubi sighed as he sat down.

"Ino was given a note for me. I dropped it in all the chaos. Maybe one of them picked it up, but it said that I should watch who I mess with. I thought this was over once Orochimaru sent Kabuto into the ring for me. I could've died, but Orochimaru isn't going to leave it alone. As far as he's concerned I've robbed him and he wants to pay me back." Kyubi told Itachi calmly.

"Kyubi what the hell have you been doing?" Kakashi asked.

"Trying to survive. We had no money and no hope Uncle Kakashi. I was trying to earn some extra, so I went and competed in street fights. The trouble is that I'm too good for Orochimaru's liking. He runs the street fights. I don't know what the hell to do Uncle. I never thought this would happen. I thought I was just risking myself. Not Naruto. You know that I wouldn't let anything happen to him if I could help it." Kyubi was almost pleading with Kakashi to believe him.

"What about your parents?" Kakashi asked.

"You can't tell them about this Kakashi. You know what they're like. They'll blame themselves. This isn't down to them it's down to me and my stupid pride." Kyubi replied. Kakashi and Itachi both felt worry creep up on them. They needed to fix this quickly. There was no other way.

"We'll find a way to fix this Kyubi." Kakashi said as an idea sprung into his head. He started to inform Kyubi and Itachi of the idea while they waited for any news on Naruto and Sasuke's conditions.

xXxXxXx THREE MONTHS LATER xXxXxXx

Things had been going relatively well since Naruto and Sasuke had been released from hospital. In fact this was the first night in a long time where Kakashi, Kushina and Minato were not in the house watching over them all. It was also the first night in a while that Sasuke had been allowed out of the house to stay at their house. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were just watching Skins on the television. Suigetsu and Juugo were at the hospital, visiting Kimmimaru. Naruto did find himself curious as to how he managed to get out of the hospital so quickly, when Kimmimaru was still there. The easy answer could be that Kimmimaru was unconscious, where as Naruto was wide awake and complaining. He hated hospitals. The trio were suspicious when they heard Kyubi moving around upstairs.

"What do you think he's planning?" Sakura asked softly. Naruto frowned.

"You don't think that he's planning on going out to find those bastards that tried to blow us up?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded sadly.

"I think that's exactly what he's planning to do. Kyubi doesn't let anything go. He's like a dog with a bone. If my parents or Uncle Kakashi were here, then he'd have to answer their questions and he can't lie to my mother. He's been waiting for them not to be here." Naruto replied.

"You think he wants to go and get revenge?" Sasuke asked.

"I can guarantee he does. I'd bet my life on it." Naruto replied.

"So what do we do about it?" Sakura asked.

"You don't do anything about it. I do. Kyubi is my brother. It's my job to say something, whether I'm older or younger." Naruto said softly. They waited for Kyubi to come down the stairs. They weren't disappointed. Not fifteen minutes later, Kyubi walked towards the front door. He seemed shocked to see Naruto standing in the way. Sakura and Sasuke stood to the side. Neither one of them spoke.

"Where are you going Kyubi?" Naruto asked. His eyes were stern and for a moment, Kyubi thought he was looking at his father instead of his brother.

"That's not your concern Naruto." Kyubi replied.

"Yeah I think it is." Naruto replied coldly.

"I have business to sort out." Kyubi replied. He made to move past Naruto but Naruto moved into his path again.

"I'm not that easy to shake off bro. I'm not going to just stand to the side and watch you get killed." Naruto replied. Kyubi swiped Naruto to the side and made to open the door. "If you leave the house without telling me where you're going, I'll follow you." Naruto stated. Kyubi had just turned the handle, and the door was partly open. Kyubi closed the door and glared at Naruto.

"You won't be following me Naruto." Kyubi replied.

"Then stop me bro. I dare you." Naruto shot back. Kyubi could see Naruto was serious. He was determined to follow, if Kyubi left the house.

"Naruto this isn't a game. You can't just follow me wherever you want to. I'm an adult it's not down to you to make sure I do what I'm supposed to do. It's my job to protect you, not the other way round. I'm doing what I have to do to make sure this family stays safe." Kyubi replied.

"You're out looking for revenge right? You think that you're gonna go to one of those arranged street fights and confront the guy who did this to you? You think we're gonna be safe if you do that?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have a choice Naruto. They already tried to kill you once. I'm not going to risk your life, or Yugito's, or Mum and Dad's. There's Sakura and Uncle Kakashi to think about too, as well as our cousins and other family. Sasuke got hurt along with you Naruto when that bomb went off. It was luck that your head was mostly protected by Sasuke's locker door when that bomb went off, or you'd be dead. I can't risk that again." Kyubi stated.

"You nearly got killed last time you went to one of these fights!" Naruto yelled angrily. Kyubi gave Naruto a pointed look.

"I'm not going there to fight Naruto. I'm going there to find the fucker that nearly got me killed, and who tried to kill you too." Kyubi replied.

"Like that isn't going to end in a fight? I'm not that stupid that I believe that Kyubi." Naruto quipped.

"You should be able to trust that I'm going to do the right thing by now." Kyubi told Naruto firmly.

"It's a little bit hard to do that bro when you've nearly got yourself killed. I don't want to lose my brother." Naruto told Kyubi seriously. Kyubi took a few steps forward and pulled Naruto into a one armed hug. Naruto looked up at Kyubi curiously.

"You know what kid? I love you and I'm proud of you. It takes a lot of balls to tell me off and the only ones who ever bother are our parents. Ma's scarier than any freaking bogey man you could dream up when she's angry. But you know, sometimes there are things that I've gotta do. If I'm not back in the morning, you tell Ma and Dad that I went to Finsbury Park. Okay?" Kyubi said sternly. Naruto nodded. This was a time when Kyubi felt he had to do something by himself. Kyubi left the house and Naruto couldn't help feeling nervous. Naruto grabbed his jacket and threw it on.

"Let's go." Naruto stated. Sasuke nodded and threw on his own jacket.

"Wait a second, are we going to follow him?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded.

"I never promised that I wouldn't follow him. Did either of you?" Naruto asked. Sasuke and Sakura shook their heads. "Then let's get going." Naruto replied. The trio left the house, not knowing exactly how this night was going to end, but hoping it wouldn't be too bad for them.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Do you know how to get to Finsbury Park from here?" Sasuke asked, as the trio jumped onto the DLR again. It was pitch black outside, and Sakura could see the lights of Canary Wharf and street lights shining on the canal as the DLR sped on its way.

"We get off at Bank, change to the central line and go to Oxford Circus, then we get on the Victoria line from there, to Finsbury Park." Naruto replied.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah I'm sure. I've been to Finsbury Park a few times." Naruto replied. Sakura couldn't help looking at the bandaging around Naruto's arm. She wondered if they should really be following Kyubi into the lion's den like this.

"It might've been better to call Dad or your parents rather than following Kyubi." Sakura said.

"I'm not going to grass him up for trying to protect us Sakura." Naruto replied softly. The trio stayed quiet as the DLR carriage rocked from side to side, taking them towards their next destination.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay that's the end of this chapter. Next chapter will be more action packed. I didn't want to make this chapter too long. I have way too much written work to do for University. Not enough time for myself. LOL! Anywho, please R&R and let me know what you think.


	14. Deals

Okay all, here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it. Loads of weirdness and slight gore in this chappie. (nods)

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Fourteen – Deals.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Once the trio managed to make their way to Finsbury Park, Sasuke and Sakura were dismayed to find the gates locked. Naruto, however, didn't allow this to deter him.

"We just need to climb the gates. That's what everyone else does when they want to get in here at night." Naruto stated. He started to pull himself up on to the wall beside the gates, and Sakura and Sasuke watched his ascent both hoping that Naruto wouldn't fall. He managed to climb over and then down. "Come on you two, it's easy!" Naruto called to them. Sasuke and Sakura both climbed up onto the wall and then over the fencing on top. Sasuke allowed himself to drop down into a crouch and then he and Naruto caught Sakura as she hopped down. The trio began walking towards the middle of the park. They saw a ring of people, from a distance, and they knew they were in the right place. As the trio pushed through the crowd, they heard the grunts and angry shouts of people they pushed through, and when they got to the front of the crowd they were horrified by what they saw.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Juugo and Suigetsu walked into the house with Kushina and Minato. The two boys were grateful to Kakashi, Kushina and Minato for taking them in. After all, most people wouldn't trust a pair of street kids. They had also put themselves down as Kimmimaru's next of kin, so that when he woke, he would have somewhere to go. It was when they heard silence in the house that Suigetsu went into the front room and saw a sticky note attached to the side of the television. Suigetsu read it and looked at Juugo before handing over then note to Minato and Minato stared down at the scrawled writing, knowing it was Naruto's.

_Dear Mum, Dad and Uncle Kakashi,_

_Kyubi went to Finsbury Park to sort out the people he thinks went for him and me. I followed with Sakura and Sasuke. Get hold of help quickly. I'm worried about how this is going to end._

_Naruto._

Minato pulled out his mobile phone and scrolled to Kakashi, before pressing the call button.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto saw Kyubi fighting a behemoth of a man in the ring. Before the trio could register what was going on fully, Kyubi and pulled the large man to the ground and double kicked him in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious.

"Orochimaru! I want Kabuto! Your little bastard tried to kill my brother!" Kyubi yelled. Sakura gripped hold of Naruto and Sasuke's arms as she recognised Orochimaru. She had known they had the same name, the man who bought her from her mother, and the man that Kyubi was having trouble with, but she had hoped they were different people. There was no such luck, as the dark haired snake practically oozed to the front of the crowd.

"Kyubi? You shouldn't have come here boy. You're walking a dangerous line." Orochimaru said. An evil smirked spread across his face. Kyubi glared and spat out a gob of blood in Orochimaru's direction. Orochimaru moved his foot at the last moment, before the gob of bloody saliva could land on it. Orochimaru glared at Kyubi, who the trio had now noticed had a bloody lip.

"I. Want. Kabuto." Kyubi growled out menacingly.

"What makes you think you make the rules?" Orochimaru questioned.

"Because whatever happens, sooner or later, I will find that little fucker and I will finish him off. I will do whatever I have to do to get hold of him." Kyubi stated. Orochimaru looked into the crowd then, and Sakura realised he was looking at her. He smirked at her and Sakura shuddered.

"He's seen me." Sakura whispered.

"Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Orochimaru." Sakura replied.

"Orochimaru?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah." Sakura replied. Both boys stood in front of Sakura, as she held on to their arms from behind them.

"How about I make a deal with you Kyubi." Orochimaru stated.

"I didn't come here to make deals, I came here for Kabuto." Kyubi replied.

"You can fight Kabuto here and now. If you lose, that pretty little girl with your brother is mine. If you win, I cancel your debt and stop any further hits on your family." Orochimaru said. Kyubi looked over to see Naruto and Sasuke, and behind them, Sakura.

"There is no way I'm going to agree to a deal like that. I am not going to barter my cousin like a piece of meat." Kyubi stated.

"If you're determined that you'll win, then why is it bartering?" Orochimaru said. The tone of his voice was sickly sweet and Sakura felt an awful shiver down her spine.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Itachi and Kakashi were just parking up, when Kakashi's phone rang. He looked to see Minato calling him.

"Minato?" Kakashi answered quickly.

"Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura have followed Kyubi to Finsbury Park. Apparently Kyubi wants to sort out whatever the hell it is that's going on, and face the guy who planted a bomb in Naruto's locker. I have a bad feeling about this." Minato stated.

"Don't worry bro. I'm on it." Kakashi said.

"I can't just sit here." Minato stated.

"Trust me Minato. I've already got a plan. Don't worry." Kakashi replied. He hung up and then both he and Itachi looked at the walled fencing of Finsbury Park. Along with them, other cars had parked up. All these men who got out of the cars were employees of the Uchiha family. Obito was also there along with Rin.

"So Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura followed Kyubi?" Itachi asked. Kakashi nodded.

"It certainly looks like it." Kakashi replied.

"Then we'll have to sort this out quickly. Once we go in there Kakashi, we will be in a literal riot. We will have to fight our way out." Itachi said.

"Naruto will look after Sakura. At least I hope so." Kakashi said. Itachi nodded, as he walked over to the security guard's hut. The man looked at him with a grumpy glare on his face.

"Can I help you?" The man stated.

"Open the gates and take a walk." Itachi replied.

"No way! I could lose my job!" The man exclaimed angrily.

"Oh, because I was under the impression that Orochimaru was already paying you. If you don't get the hell out of here, I'll change my mind about this," Itachi held up a thick envelope, a twenty pound note, just sticking out at the top. "and I'll kill you instead." Itachi finished. The man took the offered envelope, pressed an electric buzzer, and as the gates started to open, he ran. There were no questions asked.

"I always wonder how you manage to do things like that with a straight face." Kakashi stated.

"Practise. Years and years of practise Kakashi." Itachi replied. Obito smirked at Kakashi's other side. "If you want to back out, now would be the time Obito. After all, you are an esteemed member of the Bar. You don't want to lose your job." Itachi said. Obito shook his head.

"Is anyone ever going to find out we were here?" Obito questioned.

"Not likely, but you never know." Itachi replied. Obito rolled his eyes as the group made their way into the park.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"It doesn't matter if I'll win or lose, my cousin isn't a prize to barter with. She's a person not an object." Kyubi growled out. Before Orochimaru could say another word, there were shouts from spectators who were being shoved out of the way. Kyubi couldn't help being relieved when he saw Itachi, Kakashi and Obito at the head of this interruption. Orochimaru glared at Itachi.

"What the hell are you doing here Itachi Uchiha?" Orochimaru hissed.

"See that boy with Kyubi's brother and cousin? That boy is my brother. You're little pet nearly killed him with that bomb. So you have a choice to make bastard. You hand over Kabuto or we all fight right here right now." Itachi stated. Orochimaru glared.

"I don't take orders from an Uchiha." Orochimaru shot back.

"Have it your way." Itachi replied. That was when Itachi grabbed the nearest goon and punched him in the face.

Within moments, there was utter chaos. Naruto looked at Sakura and Sasuke as they were shoved backwards and forwards through the running crowd. Naruto grabbed hold of Sasuke and Sakura's hands.

"Don't let go. We have to get the hell out of this crowd or we'll get crushed!" Naruto yelled. Sakura held on tightly to Naruto's hand, and she knew Sasuke was still holding on by the way he seemed to be going through the crowd as she was, both of them being held fast and yanked through the crowd by Naruto. When they finally made it to a clear patch of ground, the trio looked over at the insanity that was going on. "What the hell is happening?" Naruto asked.

"They're battling it out. Itachi's decided to start a turf war." Sasuke replied.

"Wait a sec, are your family a bunch of underground mobsters or something?" Naruto asked.

"Kind of. But my family has certain... beliefs. We don't deal drugs, we don't keep brothels, we don't steal from poorer people then ourselves, we don't lend money to people who can't pay it back and we don't exploit kids. Those are the rules in my family. At least that's what I've been told." Sasuke replied.

"You're pretty honest about it." Sakura stated.

"You two are my friends, and you _are_ seeing what's happening here right? I might as well explain it to you myself." Sasuke replied.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kyubi looked over to see Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke stood off to the side of the fighting. Kyubi gave Naruto a thumbs up as he launched himself at another of Orochimaru's henchmen.

A not half an hour later, everyone heard sirens. Orochimaru's henchmen, the ones that could stand, were already on the run.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, running over to Kyubi. Sasuke and Sakura behind him.

"Someone heard the noise and called the cops. We have to get the hell outta here." Kyubi replied. The group ran after Itachi's men and found the gates were open. Before Kyubi, Sasuke, Naruto or Sakura could blink, Itachi and Kakashi were in Kakashi's people carrier car.

"Get in!" Kakashi called. The group listened, Naruto helped Sakura into the car before jumping in, and Sasuke and Kyubi got in afterwards. Then they were off. Kakashi driving like crazy round back streets and turnings before they ended up near the RSPCS veterinary clinic. It was all locked up, but Naruto recognised the place.

"Doesn't Yugito volunteer here?" Naruto asked. Kyubi looked at the clinic and shrugged.

"I think she does. But she only volunteers on Mondays when she has the day off from college." Kyubi replied.

"What happened tonight is not something I want any of you repeating." Kakashi stated, mostly to Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke.

"Well I have to learn to fight anyways. I'm an Uchiha, remember?" Sasuke quipped sarcastically.

"Uncle Kakashi we need to learn to defend ourselves properly. I mean today we were just stood there like lemons, and as soon as Sakura saw Orochimaru she freaked out, because she doesn't know how to defend herself. We can't be involved like we are and not be able to fight back." Naruto said seriously. Kakashi sighed, as he turned the car around and started driving towards their home. He knew Naruto was right, but teaching children to fight was encouraging them to use those skills. Kakashi looked at the trio and realised that there wasn't much choice but to get them an instructor.

"I will get you an instructor. You'll learn Martial Arts. But I will _not_ allow you to use any skills you learn for fun. I was fighting today because the choice was to fight or to allow Orochimaru to keep coming after you all. Which means I didn't have a choice but to fight. It's the same for Kyubi and Itachi. A fight should be your last resort. You fight to defend yourself." Kakashi said sternly. Naruto and Sakura nodded their understanding. They could see how dangerous fighting had become for Kyubi and for all of them. But they needed the chance to defend themselves and the people they cared about. As they drove back home, the occupants of the car had many things to think about and consider.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay, so that's it for this chapter. I meant to make the fight a bit more action packed, but I want to update all my fics today before my exams start tomorrow, so I'm sorry if this isn't as long as you wanted it to be people. Please R&R and let me know what you think.


	15. Defence Lessons

Okay all, here's the next chapter of Pets of The Underground. I hope you all like it and thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, and to everyone who added me to their faves and alerts. I really appreciate it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Pets of The Underground.

Chapter Fifteen – Defence Lessons.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I've found you the perfect tutor." Kakashi told the trio a week later. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all stared at Kakashi in surprise.

"That quickly? Is our tutor someone my parents will approve of?" Sasuke asked, not really caring if he was or not.

"It's your brother's tutor actually." Kakashi replied.

"The same guy who trained Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

"The same instructor, yes." Kakashi replied.

"So when are we meeting our tutor?" Sakura asked.

"Your Sensei, and you'll be meeting your Sensei on Saturday. This will be every Saturday for however long is deemed necessary." Kakashi answered. The trio felt a little miffed that they wouldn't get Saturdays to themselves, but compared to learning how to defend themselves that was a minor complaint.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were taken to an old looking building. Kakashi led them inside and into the old lift. It was the kind of lift that you might use on a building site. You had to pull the top half of the door down, and the bottom half rose up to meet it. Once the door was closed, Kakashi pressed the button for floor fifteen. The lift was rickety and the trio were more than a little nervous.

"Did the police find out anything after last week?" Sasuke asked Kakashi by way of conversation.

"No. The cameras have been out around the gates of Finsbury Park for a long time and there aren't any inside. There are plenty of dummy cameras around for show, but that's about it. Why do you think Orochimaru picked Finsbury Park for his little operation?" Kakashi replied. Sasuke nodded his understanding.

"What about Orochimaru? Do you know anything about what happened to him after?" Naruto asked.

"No. He and Kabuto have gone underground. It'll take us a while to find them, so unless they decide to resurface, Itachi's main concern is keeping you all watched. He has lookouts watching you three to make sure Orochimaru's little henchmen don't come out of the woodworks." Kakashi replied.

"We're the bait basically." Sakura said. She wasn't happy about that scenario.

"Not quite, but Orochimaru now knows that if he wants to get to the Uchiha's he only has to get to one of them. Sasuke is an easy target for Orochimaru. You and Naruto are even easier targets. Naruto was the victim of a botched assassination and you, Sakura, are still a target because Orochimaru believes that you are owed to him. Itachi, Obito and I are not taking the risk that he will come after you while we're out searching for him elsewhere." Kakashi told his daughter sincerely. When they reached their floor, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were surprised to find that they were in an empty loft apartment. The whole place was open plan and bare but for some mats that had been laid out on the floor. They looked like old fashioned tatami mats, but none of the trio could be sure.

"So how do you know this guy Uncle Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"She was in my martial arts classes with Rin and Obito. She's a good friend but she can remain objective while teaching you, which is why I'm not giving you the lessons." Kakashi replied.

"She?" Naruto asked.

"That's right kids." The trio turned and stared wide eyed at Rika McLaughlin, who seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

"No way!" Sasuke yelled.

"Hey if you think I'm a tough English teacher you should see what I'm like as a Sensei. Just ask your brother." Rika stated grinning.

"Wait you're one of ours?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not one of anyone's Sasuke Uchiha. I'm my own person. The fact I know Kakashi here, and Rin and Obito, means that I'll be kind enough to give you lessons. That does not make me Uchiha family property. I'll still be teaching with the same attitude. You work hard and you earn your stripes with me kid. Your family name has nothing to do with it." Rika stated.

"Thank you for this Rika. I don't think I could objectively teach them. That's why I asked you." Kakashi replied.

"Well you can return the favour and teach my demon offspring if you like." Rika stated. Kakashi smirked.

"Of course Rika, if you ever want me to, I'll be happy to teach your... darling children. You never did explain how you ended up an English teacher in the first place." Kakashi stated. Rika glared.

"Did I ask you how you ended up working for the Uchiha family? No I did not. So I will thank you kindly not to question me on my choice of profession." Rika quipped. Kakashi smirked and looked at the trio.

"Well you three have fun." Kakashi stated as he turned to leave. "Remember to call me to pick you up. I don't want Orochimaru catching you on the streets." Kakashi called back over his shoulder. The trio then looked at Rika, who was glaring.

"Fucking Orochimaru has been messing around for too long in my area." Rika hissed angrily. Then she looked at the trio. "So how did you three get into trouble with Orochimaru?" Rika asked. The trio looked at each other and then at Rika.

"Do we still call you Miss McLaughlin or do we call you Sensei here?" Sakura asked.  
"That doesn't answer my question, but here I'm your Sensei. In class I'm Miss McLaughlin. I hope you can remember that, because in all technicalities I'm not supposed to be teaching you three Martial Arts. I'm not licensed and my methods are harsh. If anyone finds out I'm training you, I could lose my job. Are you three really sure you can handle training with me?" Rika asked them gently. Sakura thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"We need to learn how to defend ourselves. If someone had trained me when I was younger I would've been able to defend myself when my stepfather tried to sell me to Orochimaru. I know my Dad told you what happened Sensei. So you asking us, is a little pointless, right?" Sakura replied. Rika grinned.

"Sakura has got it right. I wouldn't take on any students unless I knew the reason I was taking them on. A part of your training with me, is going to be that you're going to have to spot when I'm lying and when I'm telling the truth. I will expect you to practise this skill with each other. I want you to be able to defend yourself with words, not just actions. It may sound terrible for me to say, but you need to learn how to talk your way out of a situation too. I'm not saying that you need to lie. But there may be a time when you have to lie, and lie convincingly. When I worked in the army, I was once captured on a mission beyond enemy lines, and I was asked if I had any back up. Because I trained in the art of hiding my emotions, I was able to successfully lie and say I was the only one. Had I not been able to lie convincingly, if they had had any doubts about what I was saying, I would have been tortured for information before my unit could find me." Rika said.

"You were in the army?" Naruto asked. Rika levelled a look on him and he smiled sheepishly. "You were in the army Sensei?" Naruto repeated.

"That's better. Yes I was in the army for... four years. I joined to pay off my university fees." Rika said.

"How old are you... Sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm thirty-nine, the same age as Obito and Kakashi. I don't know if you know Rin." Rika replied.

"We all know Rin, Sensei, but... well... we thought you were a student teacher..." Sakura trailed off.

"We thought you were much younger Sensei." Sasuke finished. Sakura and Naruto both nodded. Rika grinned.

"We all look young in my family, but thanks. My children will be laughing like crazy when I tell them about this." Rika stated.

"Yeah you mentioned you have children. Is McLaughlin your married name?" Sasuke asked.

"My, my, we are doing a lot of question asking today. But yes, McLaughlin is my married name. Kids have always called me Miss McLaughlin and I don't correct them. That's another lesson you three may wish to learn. The power of assumption can be very strong. You look at someone and make a quick judgement, and sometimes, your judgement is right. But there are times when your brief glance at someone could be very wrong. When you look at an opponent for example, many people will look to see if they're muscled or thin, but that's not always the way to judge someone's fighting ability." Rika told them. After that, Rika allowed them to ask her questions, as they went through training drills that Rika had learned in her martial arts classes and in the army. She took them through their paces and only allowed them to stop when she deemed them tired. The first one to stop was Naruto, then Sakura, Sasuke was the last one Rika allowed to stop. "I'm testing your endurance. You're all at a certain standard and you need to be able to push yourselves further. With Naruto I understand it, due to his recent injuries. However we'll be building the three of you up. It's not easy and it takes time, don't expect to be black belts straight away." Rika told them. The trio nodded as the wearily gulped down water from the bottles they had. After four hours of Rika pushing them to their limits she told them that was it for the day. After Sakura called Kakashi the trio were sat waiting for him as Rika went round checking the place.

"Is this where you live Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"No. Although this is my apartment. I used to live here before I got married. My children come here to train. I'll have to get your father to come and supervise them sometimes." Rika said.

"So that day when you threatened to call my father, that day my stepfather tried to take me from the school?" Sakura asked.

"I know your father, just like I know Sasuke's cousin Obito. He'd already spoken to me before you were enrolled at the school Sakura. He asked me to keep an eye out for you just as he asked me to keep an out for Naruto when he started, and for Yugito and Kyubi too. I've been teaching for a good while. It's the one thing I wanted to do. It doesn't mean preferential treatment to students whose parents I happen to know, as you all should know. I've never been one for preferential treatment." Rika said.

"What about your own children? Do you train them?" Sakura asked.

"Actually my Uncle used to train them, however he's unwell now. He's very old. So I'll be glad to get your father to train them. I don't like to give preferential treatment to anyone. That's why my children go to a different school to the one I teach at. It wouldn't be fair for me to teach my own children at school." Rika said.

"More like everyone would play up to it and try to say you were playing favourites even if you weren't." Sasuke quipped. Rika grinned.

"You're right Sasuke. There are students who would do that to either try and get a better grade or to cause me trouble because they see me as a harsh teacher. I know that you kids call me 'The Devil' behind my back. But I'll wager you've learned more in my class then you have in others, or even in the school you were at before." Rika said. The trio thought about it for a moment before realising that Rika was right. She was a harsh teacher, but because she was harsh they paid more attention and they worked harder. "Now, I'm just as harsh a Sensei as an English teacher, and until Saturday, I want you to run through a regime of exercises every day. Of course Naruto I'm going to be easier on you for now. With your injury I don't want you to do more harm than good to yourself by going too far with the exercise regimes I prescribe. However, the more you can take, the more I'll give you. As you carry on you'll get better and my regimes will seem easier. Well at least that's the plan." Rika stated. Then she went through a list of exercises and drills for them to practise until the sound of the lift coming up interrupted them. "I'll e-mail the regimes to you if you write down your addresses. Make sure to follow them strictly unless you're on the verge of death." Rika told them. The trio nodded as the lift opened and Kakashi stood there waiting for them. As they left the building and got into Kakashi's car the trio all felt as though they were on the verge of something great.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, so that's the end of this chapter. I know it's a bit lengthy and I'm giving a slightly larger role to my OC, but don't worry too much about her taking over, because I can promise you that she won't be taking over the story. Anywho, please R&R and let me know what you think and feel free to ask any questions you like. I will do my best to answer. Thanks for reading and I will hopefully be able to update soon.


End file.
